“Dude, this is going to be your sixth star, right?,” I overhead a runner ask his friend in 2016 as I stretched in the start corrals of the NYC Marathon, trying to keep warm.
“Yes, can you believe it?,” his friend replied. “I’ll finally be completing the majors.”
“The majors? What are the majors?,” I thought to myself—and continued to think about for the next 26.2 miles (among way too many other things of course 🙂).
Once home and rested, I googled, “What are the marathon majors?” I couldn’t find an answer right away, probably because the series was still gaining traction (it was officially introduced in 2006). So for all the runners out there who have heard or read about the “majors” in passing but weren’t sure what they were, here’s your answer:
The World Marathon Majors is a running event series that encompasses the largest and most recognized marathons around the globe. It started in 2006 with the Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City Marathons. It then expanded in 2013 to include the Tokyo Marathon, and expanded once again in 2024 with the addition of the Sydney Marathon.
Upon successfully completing each race, runners earn a virtual “star” that they claim in an online portal. After successfully running all six of the original major marathons (Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, NYC, and Tokyo), runners earn the coveted Six Star Medal that recognizes their achievement—see the picture below. it’s beautiful, right?
With the addition of the Sydney Marathon, there were a lot of questions around whether the Six Star Medal and program would remain in tact. The answer thankfully is yes, which is great news for all of us working toward that milestone.
Right now, there are no plans for a Seven Star Medal, though it seems there may be a Nine Star Medal in the future if the Cape Town and Shanghai Marathons become majors in the future. Right now, they’re just candidate races and need to pass a certain level of criteria before joining the series.
How do I get started?
The World Marathon Majors is sponsored by Abbott, an American medical devices and health care company. To get started, create an online profile on their World Marathon Majors site. Once your profile is set up, you’ll track completion of the six races in this online runner portal.
If you’ve already run one or more of the World Marathon Majors before you set up your profile, you can search for your race(s) in the portal and officially claim your “star” for that race.
Once you complete your sixth and final World Marathon Major, the Abbott team will be there at the finish line to give you your Six Star Medal + you’ll be added to their online Hall of Fame. To get that medal at that sixth finish line, you need to notify them in advance by emailing stars@wmmajors.com.
If you’ve already run them all, you can still create an account in their online portal, retroactively claim your six stars and be mailed your Six Star Medal. Pretty awesome, huh?
Interested in learning more about the series or how it works? Check out Abbott’s World Marathon Majors FAQs!
Marathon Magic 