Just 1% of ballot entrants get a place in New York City Marathon after another record entry

It’s getting harder than ever to get a place in the world’s biggest marathons, with this week’s drawing for the New York City Marathon throwing up some staggering numbers as the rise in popularity continues.

A press release revealed: “For the second consecutive year, New York Road Runners received more applications than ever before for the TCS New York City Marathon drawing, with 240,000+ applicants from more than 160 countries – a near-20 percent increase from 2025.”

It added that “only about one percent of applicants” were accepted, with the statement continuing: “The surge in demand reflects New York Road Runners’ continued momentum amid the running boom and following the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon setting a world record as the largest marathon ever with 59,226 finishers.”

Just 1% of 240,000 applicants suggests less than 3,000 places were available by that route, very different to London for example where it’s closer to 20,000 and the cost is also around four times more expensive for New York.

Only top 10% of non-NYRR good-for-age entrants get in

All of which underlines just how difficult it now is to take part in the most iconic races.

Good-for-age times have been a route in the past for many of the quicker runners but that proved more demanding than ever this time around – with some key differences between those who raced a NYRR event compared to those who didn’t.

For the former there was guaranteed entry to any athlete who met the time qualifying standards at an in-person NYRR marathon or half marathon (the Fred Lebow Half in January, the United Airlines NYC Half in March, the Maybelline women’s Half in April, the RBC Brooklyn Half in May – and of course the NYC marathon itself).

But for those elsewhere no half marathon times were permitted and just one in 10 of those who met the threshold ended up with a 2026 spot.

The statement explained: “Further showcasing incredible demand, NYRR accepted only the top 10 percent of non-NYRR marathon Time Qualifiers, meaning athletes needed to run at least 22 minutes and 52 seconds faster than their initial qualifying standard for their gender and age group.

Those initial qualifying standards were as follows:

New York City Marathon 2025 – Men’s qualifying times to submit a good-for-age entry
Age Group	Marathon
18-34	2hrs 53min 00sec
35-39	2hrs 55min 00sec
40-44	2hrs 58min 00sec
45-49	3hrs 05min 00sec
50-54	3hrs 15min 00sec
55-59	3hrs 23min 00sec
60-64	3hrs 34min 00sec
65-69	3hrs 45min 00sec
70-74	4hrs 10min 00sec
75-79	4hrs 30min 00sec
80 and over	4hrs 55min 00sec

New York City Marathon 2025 – Women’s and Non-Binary qualifying times to submit a good-for-age entry
Age Group	Marathon
18-34	3hrs 13min 00sec
35-39	3hrs 15min 00sec
40-44	3hrs 26min 00sec
45-49	3hrs 38min 00sec
50-54	3hrs 51min 00sec
55-59	4hrs 10min 00sec
60-64	4hrs 27min 00sec
65-69	4hrs 50min 00sec
70-74	5hrs 30min 00sec
75-79	6hrs 00min 00sec
80 and over	6hrs 35min 00sec

London applications top million mark

So, for example, a 35-39 bracket male with a 2:33 to his name at the 2025 London Marathon wouldn’t have got in to New York, when the “qualifying” time was 2:55.

Yet someone from the same age range who ran 2:54 at New York last year could have run again if they’d applied.

And while that seems harsh, ultimately it’s all about supply and demand – New York is already the biggest marathon in the world in terms of available places and finishers (over 59,000 made it to Central Park in November) but there has never been such demand for a place.

It’s a similar story elsewhere – for the first time ever for any marathon, more than a million people applied to run in this year’s London Marathon.

And there are other entry methods, with Rob Simmelkjaer, CEO of New York Road Runners, saying: “This year’s marathon is extra special as it marks 50 years of the five-borough course. We are thrilled to give runners more opportunities to take part in this year’s anniversary celebration, including through our expanded Official Charity Partner Program, TCS Across the Boroughs Marathon Sweepstakes, Member-Only Second Chance Drawing, International Tour Operators, and NYRR Team for Climate.”