Running in a 26.2 mile race isn’t free

While it takes grit and determination to run a marathon, the real endurance sport is listening to someone describe their race day in detail putting one together.

Events commemorating the run from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens are usually organized by a nonprofit, which collects revenue to offset the massive overhead costs. Typically, by extension, the host city gets a windfall.

Money is the real runner’s gel

The nonprofit New York Roadrunners, which organizes the New York Marathon, spent $111 million putting together local races last year—the biggest of them being the 26.2-miler across the five boroughs.

Costs include staff salaries, vendor services like portable toilets, medical emergency teams, security, and road closures.

For instance:

• The organizer of the famed Boston Marathon pays eight cities and towns along the route up to $121,500 to offset the costs of the race.
• Last year, NYC’s Metropolitan Transit Authority asked the organizers of the New York Marathon to pay $750k to offset toll revenue lost by closing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge for runners. The organizers disputed the charge, arguing that the marathon boosts the MTA’s revenue through increased ridership on race day.

Who’s paying?

Runners are asked to cough up steep participation fees. The 50,000 runners in the New York City Marathon pay a registration fee ranging from $255 to $315, with international runners charged an additional amount.

Then there’s sponsorships from companies willing to pay a pretty penny to plaster their logos on a citywide celebration of sportsmanship that only local Uber drivers are mad about. The headline sponsor of this year’s NYC Marathon, Tata Consultancy, planned to spend up to $40 million annually supporting races through 2029.

Meanwhile, Boston and Chicago marathons seem to be full-on celebrations of Bank of America, which some runners felt went too far last year when they received medals with the bank’s logo on the front.

Host city is the No. 1 finisher

The top 50 marathons inject $5.2 billion into their local economies annually, according to a 2025 report by Brand Finance. Half of that comes from just seven of the most prestigious races: Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.

The organizers of the New York City Marathon, which attracted 2 million spectators last fall, say it generated $692 million in economic impact last year, with $287 million of that coming from out-of-towners booking hotels and probably treating themselves to a post-race pasta binge in Little Italy.