Chicago Marathon
Closes in 6 daysRace day: Sunday 10 October 2027
- Lottery
- 8–29 October 2026
- Results
- 8 December 2026
Time qualifiers, legacy finishers and charity runners apply in the same window and get a guaranteed place.
Official entry page ↗Marathons
Marathon lottery dates 2027
When each big marathon’s lottery for 2027 opens and closes, and when the results come out. Every date comes from the organisers’ own pages, last checked on 14 October 2026.
2 lotteries open now
1 opening soon
3 not announced yet
Open now
Apply before the window closes. Most of these lotteries give every entry the same chance, whatever day you apply.
Berlin Marathon
Closes in 20 daysRace day: Sunday 26 September 2027
- Lottery
- 1 October – 12 November 2026
- Results
- 3 December 2026
Runners with a fast marathon from the last two years can apply for a fast-track place instead of the lottery.
Official entry page ↗Opening soon
Dates are out: put them in your calendar.
Dublin Marathon
Opens in 20 daysRace day: Sunday 24 October 2027
- Lottery
- 12–17 November 2026
- Results
- 25 November 2026
Only six days: it opens at 9 a.m. on 12 November and closes at midnight on 17 November. Good For Age places open separately in May 2027.
Official entry page ↗Not announced yet
The organisers haven’t given dates for 2027. Last year’s window shows roughly when to watch.
Race day: Sunday 7 November 2027 · expected
- Last year
- 4–25 February 2026 · results 4 March 2026
There are separate draws for the New York area, the rest of the United States and runners from abroad.
Official entry page ↗Race day: Sunday 5 December 2027 · expected
- Last year
- 16–26 December 2025 · results 13 January 2026
Runners entered in the previous edition get a priority window first: for 2026 it ran from 11 to 15 December 2025, right after the race.
Official entry page ↗Race day: Sunday 11 April 2027
- Last year
- 9–22 September 2025 · results 23 September 2025
The organisers say pre-registration opens soon. It is already later than last year, so the dates may change.
Official entry page ↗Closed for 2027
These draws are done. If you missed out, the race pages list the other ways in.
Race day: Saturday 24 April 2027
- Lottery
- 24 April – 1 May 2026
- Results
- 9 July 2026
The 2027 race is held over two days, 24 and 25 April, and ballot winners were given one of them at random.
Official entry page ↗Race day: Sunday 9 May 2027
- Lottery
- 13 May – 3 June 2026
The race’s first lottery: more than 80,000 runners applied for 35,000 places, and results went out by email in early to mid-June.
Official entry page ↗Race day: Sunday 23 May 2027
- Lottery
- 10–24 June 2026
- Results
- 26 June 2026
The race moves to May from 2027, its first year as a World Marathon Major.
Official entry page ↗Race day: Sunday 7 March 2027
- Lottery
- 14–28 August 2026
- Results
- 18 September 2026
General entry. Overseas members of ONE TOKYO GLOBAL had an earlier round, from 31 July to 13 August.
Official entry page ↗Race day: Sunday 4 April 2027
- Lottery
- 8–30 September 2026
- Results
- 1 October 2026
The race’s first lottery, for its 50th edition. Places were offered by email in waves from 1 October, with 72 hours to accept.
Official entry page ↗Race day: Sunday 29 August 2027
- Lottery
- 29 September – 19 October 2026
- Results
- 3 November 2026
The ballot closes at 10 a.m. Sydney time. Runners who apply to the High Performance Program and miss out go into the ballot too.
Official entry page ↗A qualifying time instead
Boston and Seoul take runners on their marathon times, not by luck.
Boston Marathon
Race day: Monday 19 April 2027
- Entry
- 14–18 September 2026 · closed
Qualifiers had to beat their standard by 5:17 to get in. For the first time, about 1,000 qualifiers who missed that cut-off were drawn at random.
Official entry page ↗Seoul Marathon
Race day: Sunday 21 March 2027
- Entry
- 1 September – 30 November 2026 · open now
No lottery: runners from abroad register and submit a marathon result of 4:59:59 or faster, run since 1 January 2024, by 30 November.
Official entry page ↗All 2027 dates at a glance
| Race | Race day | Lottery or entry | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Marathon | 7 Mar 2027 | 14–28 August 2026 | 18 September 2026 |
| Seoul Marathon | 21 Mar 2027 | 1 September – 30 November 2026 | – |
| Paris Marathon | 4 Apr 2027 | 8–30 September 2026 | 1 October 2026 |
| Rotterdam Marathon | 11 Apr 2027 | Dates not announced | – |
| Boston Marathon | 19 Apr 2027 | 14–18 September 2026 | 29 September 2026 |
| London Marathon | 24 Apr 2027 | 24 April – 1 May 2026 | 9 July 2026 |
| Copenhagen Marathon | 9 May 2027 | 13 May – 3 June 2026 | – |
| Cape Town Marathon | 23 May 2027 | 10–24 June 2026 | 26 June 2026 |
| Sydney Marathon | 29 Aug 2027 | 29 September – 19 October 2026 | 3 November 2026 |
| Berlin Marathon | 26 Sep 2027 | 1 October – 12 November 2026 | 3 December 2026 |
| Chicago Marathon | 10 Oct 2027 | 8–29 October 2026 | 8 December 2026 |
| Dublin Marathon | 24 Oct 2027 | 12–17 November 2026 | 25 November 2026 |
| New York City Marathon | 7 Nov 2027 | Dates not announced | – |
| Valencia Marathon | 5 Dec 2027 | Dates not announced | – |
Giving yourself the best chance
- Enter more than one. The odds at the biggest races are long: London had more than 1.3 million applications for 2027. Applying to two or three races in the same season improves your chance of getting a place somewhere.
- Keep a plan B. Pick a race with direct entry in the same season: if no draw goes your way, your training still has a goal.
- Look at the guaranteed routes. Qualifying times, charity places and official tour operators get you into most of these races without a draw. Each race page lists them.
- Once you have a place, count back. A marathon plan runs 12 to 24 weeks, and each race page gives the start date of every plan length.
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