Marathon Prize Money: What Winners of Major Races Earn

Marathon prize money at the biggest races tops out around $150,000 for a single win, which is less than most people guess. That $150,000 figure comes from the 2026 Boston Marathon, where the Boston Athletic Association paid the men’s and women’s open champions $150,000 each out of a total purse of $1,284,500, as reported by Sportico and CBS Boston.

The other majors pay less at the top. The 2025 New York City Marathon and the 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon each paid $100,000 to their open-division winners, per Sportico. The 2026 Tokyo Marathon paid $80,000. London’s base first-place check is roughly £40,000, about $55,000. Berlin pays €30,000, roughly $33,000.

So why do you sometimes read about runners walking away with a quarter-million dollars? Because the winner’s check is only one line on the invoice. Course-record bonuses, world-record bonuses, national-record bonuses, and a season-long series title all stack on top. Here’s how the whole system actually works.

Marathon Prize Money at the Major Races, Side by Side

These six races — Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York — form the Abbott World Marathon Majors, the top tier of the sport. The table below shows first-place marathon prize money and the headline record bonus at each, using the most recent published figures.

One pattern jumps out immediately. Boston pays nearly five times what Berlin pays for the same finish line position, yet Berlin has historically produced more world records because of its flat, fast course. Marathon prize money and course speed are not correlated the way you’d expect.

Bonuses Usually Dwarf the Winner’s Check

The clearest example came in April 2026. Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the London Marathon in 1:59:30, becoming the first person to run an official, record-eligible marathon under two hours, according to Sky Sports and Olympics.com. He broke the late Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:00:35 world record by 65 seconds.

Sawe’s base winner’s prize was about £40,000. His reported total take, including the world-record bonus and related payments, was around £263,000 — roughly $355,000 — per SportBible’s reporting. The bonus was several times the actual marathon prize money for winning the race.

Boston works the same way at a smaller scale. John Korir repeated as men’s champion in 2026 and collected $200,000: his $150,000 winner’s prize plus a $50,000 course-record bonus, Sportico reported. Sharon Lokedi won the women’s race the same day and earned $150,000 — no bonus, because her 2:18:51 was slightly slower than the course record she herself had set the year before.

How Marathon Prize Money Is Spread Through the Field

Every major pays well beyond first place, and the drop-off is steep. At the 2026 Boston Marathon, second place earned $75,000 and third earned $40,000. At the 2025 New York City Marathon, the ladder ran $40,000 for third, $25,000 for fourth, $15,000 for fifth, $10,000 for sixth, and down to $2,000 for tenth.

Chicago in 2025 had a total purse of $908,000 plus record bonuses. American Conner Mantz finished fourth in 2:04:43, breaking Khalid Khannouchi’s American record of 2:05:38, and collected $30,000 from the open pool as a fourth-place finisher.

There are also national-athlete bonuses at several races. Tokyo, for example, offers a ¥5,000,000 bonus for a Japanese national record. These side incentives mean a runner who never touches the podium can still leave with a meaningful check.

The Season-Long Title Adds Another Layer

Beyond individual races, the Abbott World Marathon Majors awards a series title based on results across the season. The series champion receives $50,000, with $25,000 for second, $12,500 for third, $7,500 for fourth, and $5,000 for fifth.

Here’s the part most casual fans don’t know: that structure came from a cut, not a raise. In September 2022, the organization equalized elite and wheelchair series pay — but it did so by reducing the elite purse rather than raising the wheelchair purse, a change LetsRun.com reported as a 69% reduction to the elite series prize money.

Wheelchair racing has gained real ground elsewhere. In 2024 the London Marathon became the first major to award fully equal prize money to wheelchair and non-disabled elite champions, as the BBC and NBC News reported. Boston’s 2026 wheelchair division paid $50,000 for first, $30,000 for second, and $15,000 for third.

The Boston Payout That Arrived a Decade Late

This is the most striking marathon prize money story in the sport. The Boston Athletic Association announced it would retroactively pay athletes who lost out because a competitor ahead of them was later disqualified for doping — going back to 1986, the first year Boston awarded cash.

The program covers 103 athletes across 45 races and totals $876,000, with adjustments for interest to account for the years that passed. Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba, elevated to first in the 2014 race after Rita Jeptoo’s doping conviction, received $103,000 — $75,000 for the win, a $25,000 course-record bonus, and $3,000 for moving up a spot in 2016.

Deba crossed that finish line in 2014. She was recognized and paid roughly a decade later. It’s a reminder that the results sheet you see on race day isn’t always final.

What Marathon Prize Money Means for Everyday Runners

If you run a major as a regular entrant, there’s no payout. Marathon prize money at the majors goes to the open or elite division — professional and invited athletes only. Most of the 50,000-plus people in a big-city field are paying an entry fee, not collecting one.

Smaller US road races do sometimes offer cash to overall or masters winners, often a few hundred dollars, though amounts vary widely by event and aren’t standardized. Check the specific race’s published rules before assuming anything.

Prize money is also income. The IRS treats prizes and awards as taxable, and payers generally report amounts of $600 or more on Form 1099-MISC, Box 3, with the recipient reporting them on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8i. For your own situation, check IRS.gov or talk to a tax professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which marathon pays the most marathon prize money to its winner?

Among the majors, Boston paid the highest base winner’s prize in 2026 at $150,000. But a race with a large record bonus, like Tokyo’s $200,000 world-record bonus, can produce a bigger single-day total.

Do second and third place get paid?

Yes. Boston 2026 paid $75,000 for second and $40,000 for third. New York in 2025 paid down to tenth place, ending at $2,000.

Do wheelchair athletes get equal marathon prize money?

It depends on the race. London became the first major to pay wheelchair champions equally, in 2024. The Abbott series title pays $50,000 to both elite and wheelchair champions. Individual races vary — Boston’s 2026 wheelchair winners received $50,000.

Can a regular runner win money at a major marathon?

No. The majors restrict prize money to the professional open division. Some smaller US races pay overall or age-group winners, so read that event’s official rules.

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Content last reviewed August 2026. If you notice outdated information, please contact us.

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