The title of world largest marathon has changed hands several times in the last two years and Sunday’s Paris Marathon is now the world largest race of it’s kind — even beating out the majors.
According to organizer, Amaury Sport Organization, 56,950 participants took to the streets of Paris and have joined the ranks of marathons that continue to push the capacity at that distance.
And on a day when Benard Biwott won the men’s division in 2:05:25 — his marathon debut — and Bedatu Hirpa soared with a 2:20:45 finish, Paris reclaimed a record it set just a year ago in the same setting.
At the 2024 Paris Marathon, 53,899 participants crossed its finish line, pushing past the 53,627 finishers at the 2019 New York City Marathon. Last year’s mark was then broken by the 54,154 finishers at the Berlin Marathon last September, a record later surpassed by the New York City Marathon last November with 55,646.
Race officials noted that 51 percent of the field on Sunday were first-time marathoners, 31 percent women and 33 percent international entrants. Meanwhile, nearly 6,000 charity runners joined the action and raised over $5.6 million for 300 charities.
Despite the record-setting moment, Paris holds the distinction of not being among the seven marathon majors — but still drew a massive turnout.
But being the world leader could be short-lived
The Boston Marathon is on Monday, April 21, and will host around 30,000 runners but the London Marathon comes nearly a week later and is expected to field well over 56,000 participants — and likely knocking Paris from the podium for another year.
