The New York City Marathon and Chicago Marathon continue to rule the road racing landscape in the United States and have once again led the way as the top 100 races in 2025 based on total finishers.
According to a study published by RunSignup last week, both major marathons (and corresponding 5k events before the respective races) took the top two spots last year, their fourth straight years in the first and second positions.
New York and the Dash to the Finish Line 5k pulled in 69,923 finishers, a 7 percent rise from 2024, while Chicago and the Abbott Chicago 5k saw 63,855 finishers, a 4 percent jump. For the New York City Marathon, the tally also pushed it back into the record books, with 59,226 finishers on November 2 officially making it the largest marathon ever.
Benson Kipruto won the men’s race, while Hellen Obiri dominated the women’s field in a course record as Marcel Hug and Susannah Scaroni took the wheelchair divisions.
Meanwhile, other races on the list continue to thrive as 75 of the 100 events saw an average increase of around 6.5 percent over 2024’s finisher totals as participation has surged past pre-pandemic levels. But according to the data, despite more than just over half of the top 25 races increasing around 5.2 percent beyond 2019 totals, it is the largest races on the list that have pushed the growth.
And that figure can be attributed directly to the increased demand for top races like the New York City Marathon, Chicago Marathon, BOLDERBoulder, AJC Peachtree Road Race and the Boston Marathon, which dominate the top five slots for 2025.
In total, all 100 races had 1,921,611 finishers compared to 1,822,490 participants from 2024 and 1,874,586 from the 2019 list.
But throughout the 2025 list there are some races that saw the largest expansion, with the Marine Corps Marathon (38 percent), Rocky Run (36 percent), Rodeo Run (36 percent), Portland Marathon (33 percent) and the Manchester Road Race (31 percent) all seeing significant boosts over 2024.
Top 50 road races of 2025 by finishers
1. TCS New York City Marathon + Dash to the Finish Line 5k – 69,923
2. Bank of America Chicago Marathon + Abbott Chicago 5k – 63,855
3. BOLDERBoulder – 45,217
4. AJC Peachtree Road Race – 43,654
5. Boston Marathon + BAA 5k – 37,576
6. Hot Chocolate 15K/5K: Chicago – 33,547
7. Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run – 33,050
8. Honolulu Marathon – 31,852
9. Cooper River Bridge Run – 31,203
10. Flying Pig Marathon Weekend – 30,908
11. Rocky Run – 30,198
12. Marine Corps Marathon – 30,195
13. Lilac Bloomsday Run – 30,049
14. United Airlines NYC Half – 28,709
15. Chevron Houston Marathon – 28,498
16. RBC Brooklyn Half – 28,489
17. Philadelphia Marathon Weekend – 28,329
18. runDisney Princess Half Marathon – 27,655
19. Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile & 5K – 26,868
20. Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego – 26,533
21. Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend – 25,949
22. Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon – 25,707
23. San Francisco Marathon – 24,698
24. NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon – 24,616
25. runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend – 23,749
26. Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle – 23,733
27. Asics Los Angeles Marathon – 22,416
28. IU Health 500 Festival Mini-Marathon and Delta Dental 500 Festival 5k – 22,017
29. Dick’s Pittsburgh Marathon – 21,899
30. Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon & Medtronic TC 10 Mile – 21,658
31. Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas – 21,347
32. Cowtown Fort Worth Texas Running Events – 20,995
33. 22nd Annual Pat’s Run – 20,872
34. Long Beach Marathon and Half Marathon – 20,332
35. JP Morgan Corporate Challenge-NY – 20,203
36. Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot – 20,019
37. Bay to Breakers – 20,007
38. BMW Dallas Marathon – 19,966
39. Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend – 19,725
40. Statesman Capitol 10K – 19,320
41. Ascenion Seton Austin Marathon & Half Marathon & 5K – 19,206
42. Lifetime Miami Marathon and Half & Tropical 5K – 19,119
43. Army Ten Miler – 18,975
44. Grandma’s Marathon – Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon – 18,354
45. Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K – 18,169
46. St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville – 18,006
47. Detroit Free Press Marathon – 17,918
48. runDisney Disneyland Half Marathon – 17,830
49. Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic – 17,790
50. Hood To Coast – 17,628
