AbbottWMM world marathon majors

The Cleveland Marathon has been chosen as one of the qualifying marathons for the Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Championships. Feel free to contact the Marathon office at info@clevelandmarathon.com with any questions.

 

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How it Works

The 2026 Age Group World Championships will take place within the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon on May 24. The qualifying window for the 2026 Age Group World Championships has now closed.

‍The 2027 Age Group World Champs will be hosted within the Tokyo Marathon on March 7.‍‍‍

Qualification for the 2027 Champs is in operation from October 1, 2025 until September 30, 2026 and will be based on the rankings at the end of the season. The list of qualifying races can be found here. Invites will be issued from mid-October 2026.

PLEASE NOTE: We will NOT use the automatic qualifying time system that has been in place for the previous two editions.

In order to receive an invitation, runners must be registered at AbbottWMM.com.‍

The AbbottWMM Marathon Tours & Travel (MTT) Age Group World Rankings comprise over 375 qualifying races in over 90 different countries in which athletes in nine separate age groups can compete in marathons across the world to earn a global ranking.

Athletes will be ranked according to their single fastest time in a qualifying event.  This new system started in 2023 with great success.

Achieve the qualifying time for your Age Group and you’ll be in thefirst round of invites to secure your place for the 2026 AbbottWMM MTT Age Group World Championships.

Runners who do not achieve the qualifying time can still receive an invitation to enter the World Championship depending on the full field size and the number of athletes achieving the qualifying time.

In order to receive an invitation, runners must be registered at AbbottWMM.com.

The date, location and field size for the 2026 AbbottWMM MTT Age Group World Championships will be announced in due time.

Qualifying Times (*subject to change)

Age Group

Male

Female

40-44

02:35

03:05

45-49

02:42

03:13

50-54

02:48

03:21

55-59

02:57

03:34

60-64

03:10

03:49

65-69

03:26

04:12

70-74

03:40

04:35

75-79

04:06

05:15

80+

04:40

05:30

 

RANKING FAQs

How can I qualify for the 2027 world championships?

For the 2027 World Championships in Tokyo, there will be two ways to qualify:

1. Top-ranked athletes from each age group will be invited to the 2027 World Championships when the 2025/2026 rankings season closes. The number of qualifying places per age group will be announced in summer 2026.

2. The AbbottWMM Global Marathon, held within the Global Run Club, has 200 places available for the fastest verified finishers. Visit the Global Run Club for full details. Places available via this pathway are as follows:


Age Group
Female
Male
   
40-44   		    
20   		    
20   
   
45-49   		    
20   		    
20   
   
50-54   		    
20   		    
20   
   
55-59   		    
15   		    
15   
   
60-64   		    
15   		    
15   
   
65-69   		    
5   		    
5   
   
70-74   		    
2   		    
2   
   
75-79   		    
2   		    
2   
   
80+   		    
1   		    
1   

What is the qualification window for the 2017 age group world champs?

The qualifying window runs from October 1 2025 to September 30 2026. Please visit here for a full list of qualifying events.

 FIND MORE INFO HERE

 

ABOUT ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

The Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) is a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world - Tokyo Marathon, B.A.A. Boston Marathon, TCS London Marathon, BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon.

Encompassing an annual series for elite runners and elite wheelchair athletes, AbbottWMM also applauds the achievements and passion of everyday champions from around the world. The AbbottWMM Six Star System is an online results hub that celebrates every runner who has completed from one to six of the races in the series and encourages them to 'Reach For The Stars'.

AbbottWMM has also launched the AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Rankings - our first ever global age group marathon ranking system. The inaugural AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championship took place in autumn 2021 as part of the London Marathon.

AbbottWMM sets the pace in the marathon industry, providing largest platform for the best athletes in the sport and offering the only truly global program for the world’s amateur athletes.

EACH OF THE SIX ABBOTTWMM MASS PARTICIPATION RACES DELIVERS SEVERAL UNIQUE BENEFITS TO RUNNERS:

  • An unparalleled experience – operational excellence at each race ensures a premium race-day journey for runners

  • A professional series – the best professional athletes in the world competing for points with the winner taking a share of the prize purse every year

  • Promotion of marathon running – AbbottWMM organizers aggressively champion anti-doping protocols and make many other efforts to move the sport forward.

 

 

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