The London Marathon (© TCS London Marathon)
The Marathon Majors are renowned venues for exceptional performances, with Berlin and Chicago hosting the top three world performances for both women and men. Boston is also considered an excellent course for breaking records. However, these races remain championship events, subject to racing strategy, when not run “for the record”.
| City | Tokyo | Boston | London | Berlin | Chicago | New York |
| Week Number & Month | 3rd February | 2nd April | 3rd April | 3rd September | 1st/2nd October | 1st November |
| Elevation gain (m) | 60 up 98 down |
248 up 388 down |
127 up 161 down |
73 up |
74 up 73 down |
246 up 251 down |
| Men Best (year) | 02:02:16 (2024) | 02:03:02 (2011) | 02:01:25 (2023) | 02:01:09 (2022) | 02:00:35 (2023, WR) | 02:04:58 (2023) |
| Women Best (year) | 02:15:55 (2024) | 02:19:59 (2014) | 02:15:25 (2003) | 02:11:53 (2023) | 02:09:56 (2024, WR) | 02:22:31 (2003) |
Table: General Calendar of the World Major Marathons Series with elevations and best performances.
Six cities, six profiles
While challenging course profiles can positively influence race dynamics (as demonstrated in the Paris 2024 Olympic Marathons), the greatest performances typically occur on flat courses where the pace can be carefully controlled.
Figures : Course profiles for the six majors. Note that the elevation has been normalized to zero for a readable comparison.
Chicago stands as the flattest of the six marathons, while New York City is the most challenging. With its multiple ups and downs, Tokyo is unlikely to be considered a fast race course. In contrast, Boston's predominantly downhill profile lives up to its reputation as a fast event. London and Berlin's profiles present some interesting contrasts. While the London Marathon—typically won in 2:18 by women and 2:04 by men—seems conducive to records, this appears contrary to Berlin's profile, which features an uphill section between kilometers 25 and 30.
Looking at typical characteristics, London's downhill at the fifth kilometer can be demanding for athletes, while Berlin's gentle slope appears less challenging, even allowing runners to accelerate on the descent.
Six cities, six climates
Not only does the course profile affect performance, but environmental conditions also play a crucial role. From Chicago to Tokyo, runners face diverse climate conditions across the globe, which significantly impact their physiology during the race.
| City | Tokyo 2024 | Boston 2024 | London 2024 | Berlin 2024 | Chicago 2023 | New York 2023 |
| Date | 3rd March | 15th April | 21th April | 29th September | 8th October | 5th November |
| Temperature (at start/2 hours after start) | 7°C/10°C | 13°C/16°C | 7°C/9°C | 9°C/13°C | 8°C/9°C | 10°C/13°C |
| Humidity (at start) | 37% | 72% | 65% | 81% | 68% | 64% |
Table: Temperature and humidity in Majors Marathons between 2023 and 2024.
Analyzing the winner times across these editions reveals that the fastest performances occurred at temperatures around 8°C with humidity between 63-70%. Despite its profile suggesting potential for fast times, Boston produced the slowest times among the discussed races. In 2023, Chicago benefited from favorable conditions, with a west/north-west wind of 11.3 km/h, which may have boosted performance.
Figures: Winner finish times for the six majors over different temperatures and humidity conditions.
| City | Tokyo 2024 | Boston 2024 | London 2024 | Berlin 2024 | Chicago 2023 | New York 2023 |
| Men Winning time (hh:mm:ss) | 02:02:15 | 02:06:17 | 02:04:01 | 02:03:17 | 02:00:35 (WR) | 02:04:58 |
| Men Top 10 average time (hh:mm:ss) | 02:05:25 | 02:08:33 | 02:08:03 | 02:04:37 | 02:06:13 | 02:08:51 |
| Women Winning time (hh:mm:ss) | 02:15:54 | 02:22:37 | 02:16:16 | 02:16:42 | 02:13:44 | 02:27:23 |
| Women Top 10 average time (hh:mm:ss) | 02:21:50 | 02:24:07 | 02:20:03 | 02:20:36 | 02:19:46 | 02:28:53 |
| Percentage of difference between women and men top 10 | 12.3% (16:25) | 11.4% (15:34) | 9.0% (12:00) | 12.1% (15:59) | 10.2% (13:33) | 14.4% (20:02) |
Table: Recap of winning and top 10 average times over the past races. In addition, the percentage difference between women and men top 10 time is evaluated based on the gap between gender top 10 averages and the associated mean.
Interestingly, a race that is strategic for men may not be for women. In Berlin 2024, the men's top 10 finishers were tightly grouped, with finishing times averaging just 1 minute 20 seconds behind the winner. In contrast, New York 2023 saw the most intense competition among women, with the podium positions separated by only 10 seconds. These patterns demonstrate how major marathons can be run either strategically or as record attempts, as shown by Kiptum's world record in Chicago 2024 and Kipchoge's two record-breaking runs in Berlin.
While these events are often discussed for their record-breaking potential, Tokyo has also proven to be a fast course. London's average top women's finish times are notably strong, while men tend to maintain a more moderate pace in Great Britain. This difference might be attributed to the steep start, which could push women—who typically take a more conservative approach—to faster initial speeds. But this remains speculative.
In terms of gap between women and men performances, London is the closest, with a difference of 9% between the two genders. This illustrates that women usually perform well in Great-Britain. On the opposite, NYC marathon appeared to be more challenging for women in 2023. As an average, in terms of timing, a 12% difference is observed, mostly accounting for a time difference close to 15 minutes. Stunning comparison: men and women marathon World Records (02:00:35 and 02:09:56 respectively) differ from 7.5% (09:24) ! As a matter of facts, women’s performances continue to reach new heights, narrowing the gap and showing increasingly less disparity compared to their male counterparts.