I remember when getting into a major marathon felt like a long shot.
You applied.
You hoped.
Maybe you got in.
That was enough.
What's happening right now in the running world is something else entirely — a shift so significant that one of the oldest, most iconic marathons on the planet just made a decision it has never made in 45 years of history. The TCS London Marathon announced it will become a two-day event for the first time ever in 2027, splitting 100,000 runners across two consecutive days on April 24 and 25.
One hundred thousand runners. The largest marathon event in history.
And it's still not enough.
The number that stopped me cold
When the ballot closed for the 2026 London Marathon, the organizers announced a new world record: 1,133,813 applications. For one race.
Let that sink in.
To put that in context — that's more people than live in the entire city of Dallas, all trying to secure one of roughly 57,000 spots. The odds of getting in through the public ballot? Around 2%.
And the growth is relentless. In 2024, applications stood at 578,000. In 2025, they hit 840,000. In 2026, they broke 1.1 million. This isn't a spike — it's a structural transformation in how people relate to running.
Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon Events, called it "absolutely staggering." The numbers agree.
Why now? What changed?
Running has been growing for years, but what's happening right now is different. A few forces converged at once.
Community replaced solitude. Running used to be a solo sport. Now it's built around clubs, crews, and early morning groups. According to Strava, new run clubs grew 3.5% in 2025 alone, and 37% of users say running clubs are one of the best places to meet people. The 5AM crew isn't an anomaly — it's the new normal.
Gen Z showed up. The generation most likely to experience loneliness is turning to running as a solution. Gen Z runners were 75% more likely than Gen X to say a race or event motivated them to train. Nearly 70% of Gen Z runners competed in some form in 2025.
The marathon became a bucket-list experience. Race participation globally rose 17.1% in 2024. Half-marathon finishers jumped nearly 21%. Marathon finishers increased 14.6%. The 2025 Paris Marathon set a world record with almost 57,000 runners — and 51% of them were running a marathon for the very first time.
First-timers. Everywhere.
London is the clearest sign of what's coming
The 2025 London Marathon broke the Guinness World Record for the most finishers in any marathon in history — 56,640 people crossing the finish line on The Mall. That record was immediately broken by New York in November 2025 with 59,226. London will take it back with 100,000 in 2027.
The city marathon is no longer just a race. It's a destination. A life milestone. Something people spend years training for, travelling across the world to reach, and wearing on their chests for the rest of their lives.
The travel industry has a name for it now: runcations. Runners choosing their holidays around races. Building entire trips — flights, hotels, city guides — around a start line.
The Sydney Marathon, newly added as the seventh World Marathon Major, received 123,000 ballot applications for 2026. A 56% increase from the year before. Cape Town went from 13,000 marathon runners in 2022 to 27,000 in 2026. The boom isn't limited to London or New York — it's global.
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What this means if you're a runner right now
You're part of something that's growing faster than the races can keep up with.
Maybe that's why so many of us wake up before sunrise.
It was never only about finishing a marathon.
It was always about becoming the kind of person who could.
Miles first. Coffee always. Community forever.
— The Coffee Runners Club
Running a destination race this year? Tell us where — tag us @the.cofferunnersclub
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