Sydney to Become Seventh World Major Marathon in 2025

The Sydney Marathon has joined the ranks of New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin and Tokyo, receiving a designation reserved for the most elite races in the world.

Just as runners crossed the finish line at the New York City Marathon on Sunday, completing a 26.2-mile trek across all five boroughs, some were already setting their sights on a new major race.

The Sydney Marathon will join the ranks of New York, London and Berlin to become the seventh world major marathon, a designation reserved for the most elite races, its organizers announced on Sunday. The designation came after a three-year review process that included the city’s marathon surpassing 20,000 finishers during its 2024 race, held in September.

“The team in Sydney has been working towards this day, every day, for more than three years, and to see the improvement in their operations and event experience to the point where we can now call them a Major has been deeply impressive,” Dawn Stone, the chief executive of Abbott World Marathon Majors, the organization that manages the races, said in a statement.

Sydney is the first marathon to be added to the roster since the addition of Tokyo in 2013. The original five cities are New York, Boston, Chicago, London and Berlin.

All seven will be part of what the world majors call its star program — Six Star finishers are marathoners who have completed all six world marathon majors. Sydney will make it a Seven Star program, with eyes toward a Nine Star program eventually; Cape Town and Shanghai are also under consideration.

Participation in the Sydney Marathon has skyrocketed in recent years: According to the New South Wales government, which includes Sydney, entries increased to 25,000 in 2024 from 5,000 runners in 2022. The state government said it expected 33,000 runners to register for the race, which will be held on Aug. 31, 2025, in Australia.

“This amazing milestone is going to have a profound impact on running in Australia, inspiring the community to become a marathoner and do something special for themselves, their families and friends,” said Wayne Larden, the race director for the Sydney Marathon.

The Sydney race will be the only major marathon in the Southern Hemisphere and should bring springlike temperatures. The route includes some of the city’s most well-known vistas, beginning in North Sydney, crossing over the city’s Sydney Harbour Bridge, down around Darling Harbour, back up to Circular Quay, down Hyde Park and farther south through Centennial Park and back up to finish at the Sydney Opera House.

Robert Dalto, 36, has run all six major marathons twice, including this year, and the Sydney Marathon in September. He compared the course to “if New York and Boston had a baby,” noting how hilly stretches in both cities can test runners. But the Sydney course is “a very runnable and achievable format.”

Of note: Sydney is the only major marathon race where competitors will run alongside palm trees.

“Being able to go surfing the same day you ran a marathon is certainly unique,” Dalto said, adding that the Opera House is “probably one of the most iconic finish lines” he’s ever experienced.

He said that adding the Australian race was an exciting change as major marathons spread around the world.

“You really expand the horizons of what it truly means to be a world major marathon, and from that lens, it’s really cool,” he said. “It’s going to take people to places around the world they may not have otherwise been.”

Tommie Bailey, who goes by Tommie Runz, said he was excited that marathon organizers wanted to include “more cultures, more communities around the world,” but worried that the distance and money involved in getting to Sydney might dissuade some runners.

“I’m hoping in this change there is some thought about making sure all communities that are trying to grow in this running space are able to or have some assistance to make this manageable,” he said.

Runz, 40, began running in 2018 and completed all Six Star races this year, ending the year-long challenge on Sunday in New York (with an additional seventh stop at the Osaka Marathon). Sydney would definitely be added to his list, he said, but would he do them all again?

“I’m just really proud to have had that opportunity,” he said, adding with a laugh: “I think the whole seven marathons in a year — I’m over it.”