This list of the largest running events in the world is based on the number of participants. If available, the number of "registered" participants or finishers may be specified. Not all participants will actually complete a race. Running USA's Road Running Information Center estimates that, on average, 80%-85% of registrants will complete a race.[1] If a yearly event has consistently high participation, the year in which that event had the largest number of participants has been listed.

With 110,000 participants, the Bay to Breakers race held on May 18, 1986, in San Francisco, California was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest footrace.[2] On October 10, 2010, 116,086 out of 160,000 registered runners in Manila were reported to have finished a run entitled "10.10.10 A Run for the Pasig River".[3] An official for the ABS-CBN Foundation said that documentation of the event was being forwarded to Guinness World Records.[3] The Guinness World Records certified Run for the Pasig River as having the most participants in a racing event on December 26, 2010.[4]

On 6 August 2023, Kalaignar Centenary Marathon which was held at Chennai, India is officially recognized and approved by Guinness World Records having 65,762 people taking part and considered as the Largest Running Race Series held in the world.[5]

Since 2014 the Wings for Life World Run is the largest run, though not confirmed by Guinness World Records.[6][7]

parkrun, a series of weekly 5 km events held on Saturday mornings in 22 countries around the world, has for some time been the largest running event in the world. On a regular Saturday, around 300,000 people take part across nearly 2000 events. The highest ever attendance was on 11 January 2020 where 369,213 people took part across the 1635 events taking place that day.

Largest running events

PositionRace nameLocationCountryDateDistancesParticipation[a]Notes
1parkrunGlobalGlobal11 Jan 20205 km369,213[8]
2Wings for Life World RunGlobalGlobal4 May 2024set own goal265,818[4]
3Dubai RunDubaiUnited Arab Emirates24 November 202310 km, 5 km,226,000[9][10][11]
4Kabaka Birthday RunKampalaUganda12 April 202621 km, 10 km, 5 km130,000[12][13][14]
5A Run for the Pasig RiverManilaPhilippines10 October 201010 km, 5 km, 3 km116,086[4]
6Royal RunCopenhagen/Frederiksberg, Randers, Ringkøbing, Middelfart, HelsingørDenmark25 May 202610 km, 5 km, 1 mile112,450[15]
7Bay to BreakersSan Francisco, CaliforniaUnited States18 May 198612 km110,000[2]
8Cursa El Corte InglesBarcelonaSpain5 June 199411 km109,457[16]
9Broloppet/BroløbetMalmö / CopenhagenSweden / Denmark12 June 2000Half-Marathon92,266, 79,837[17]
10City2SurfSydneyAustralia9 August 202014 km86,696, 68,930[18]
11Dam tot DamloopAmsterdamNetherlands20 September 200910 miles, 4 miles and kids runs74,020[citation needed]
12Kalaignar Memorial International MarathonChennaiIndia6 August 2023Marathon, half-marathon, 10 km, 5 km73,206[19][20]
13Hong Kong MarathonHong KongHong Kong15 January 2015Marathon, half-marathon, 10 km, 10 km wheelchair race, 3 km wheelchair race73,070[21]
14Round the BaysAucklandNew Zealand10 March 20138.4 km70,000[22]
15JPMorgan Corporate ChallengeFrankfurtGermany7 June 20185.6 km64,377[citation needed]
16Lilac Bloomsday RunSpokane, WashingtonUnited States5 May 199612 km61,298[23]
17United We RunBeirutLebanon10 April 20055 km,60,000[24]
18Vancouver Sun RunVancouver, British ColumbiaCanada15 April 201210 km89,000,[25] 44,167[26]
19HolmenkollstafettenOsloNorway4 May 202418,8 km72,000[27]
20GöteborgsvarvetGothenburgSweden21 May 2011Half-Marathon59,417[28]
21Peachtree Road RaceAtlanta, GeorgiaUnited States4 July 200810 km58,000,[29] 54,954[26]
22Course de l'EscaladeGenevaSwitzerland7-8 December 202420.5 km, 7.3 km, 4.8 km, 9 km walk and kids runs57,183[30]
23London MarathonLondon, EnglandUnited Kingdom27 April 2025Marathon56,640[31][32]
24Panipat PinkathonPanipat, HaryanaIndia8 March 201921 km, 10 km, 5 km or 3 km run/walk55,498 [33][34]
25Great North RunNewcastle, EnglandUnited Kingdom26 September 2004/ 19 September 2010Half-Marathon54,500[35]
26Bolder BoulderBoulder, ColoradoUnited States26 May 200810 km54,040[36]
27New York City MarathonNew York CityUnited States4 November 2018Marathon53,121, 52,812[37]
28City to SurfPerthAustralia25 August 2013Marathon, Half-Marathon, 12 km, 4 km and Regional Series (Karratha, Geraldton, Albany and Busselton)50,756[38]
29Carrera Día Olímpico 5k Olympic Day Run 5KMedellínColombia23 June 20135 km50,000[39][40]
30Paris MarathonParisFrance14 April 2019Marathon49,155[41]
31Grete Waitz-løpetOsloNorway4 May 19965 km48,461[42][better source needed]
31Ottawa Race WeekendOttawa, OntarioCanada23/24 May 2014Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, 10K, 5K, 2K, Kids Run47,387[43]
32Bogotá Half MarathonBogotá, CundinamarcaColombia1 August 2010Half-Marathon, 10 km44,186[44][b]
33LidingöloppetLidingö, StockholmSweden24 September 2011Cross country, 30 km43,230[45]
34Monument Avenue 10KRichmond, VirginiaUnited States2 April 201110 km43,214[46]
35Vienna City MarathonViennaAustria12 April 2015Marathon42,657[47]
36SberPrime Kazan MarathonKazan, TatarstanRussia2/3 May 20263 km, 10 km, 21.1 km, 42.2 km42,503, 35,687[48]
37San Silvestre VallecanaMadridSpain31 December 201810 km42,500[49]
38BUPA Great Manchester RunManchester, EnglandUnited Kingdom18 May 201410 km41,300[50]
39Women's Mini Marathon (10k)DublinIreland2 June 201410 km41,006[51]
40Mumbai MarathonMumbai, MaharashtraIndia20 January 2013Marathon, Half-Marathon, Dream Run(6 km), Senior Citizens Race (4.3 km), Champions with Disability category (2.4 km)40,000[citation needed]
41Deejay TenMilanItaly14 October 201810 km, 5 km40,000[52]
42Jerusalem MarathonJerusalemIsrael15 March 2019Marathon40,000[53]
43Broad Street RunPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaUnited States5 May 201310 miles38,144[54]
44Chicago MarathonChicago, IllinoisUnited States7 October 2012Marathon37,455[55]
45Boston MarathonBoston, MassachusettsUnited States15 April 1996Marathon35,868[56]
46Berlin MarathonBerlin,Germany16 September 2018Marathon44,000[57]
47Baloise Antwerp 10 milesAntwerpBelgium23 April 202310 miles37,500[58]
4820 km of BrusselsBrusselsBelgium28 May 202320 km36,692[59]
49Sydney Running FestivalSydneyAustralia18 September 2011Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10 km, 3.5 km35,033[60]
50OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-MarathonIndianapolis, IndianaUnited States4 May 2008Half-Marathon35,000[61]
51Great Ethiopia RunAddis AbabaEthiopiaNovember 201010k35,000[62]
52Athens Classic MarathonAthens, AtticaGreece9 November 2014Marathon, 10k, 5k35,000[63]
53Bank of America Shamrock ShuffleChicago, IllinoisUnited StatesMarch 25, 20128k34,369[64]
54Bridge to BrisbaneBrisbaneAustralia11 September 201110 km, 5 km42,546, 34,146[65]
55HBF Run for a ReasonPerth, Western Australia, AustraliaAustralia22 May 20164 km, 12 km and 21 km33,744[66]
56Cooper River Bridge RunCharleston, South CarolinaUnited States27 March 201010 km33,000[67]
57Grand Prix von BernBernSwitzerland10 May 201410 miles, 4.7 km, 1.6 km32,116[68]
58Run to Feed the HungrySacramento, CaliforniaUnited States28 November 20245 km, 10 km31,660[69]
59Philadelphia MarathonPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaUnited States17 November 2013Marathon, Half-Marathon, 8K31,471[70]
60ZevenheuvelenloopNijmegenNetherlands16 November 201415 km, 7 km31,307[71]
61Amsterdam MarathonAmsterdamNetherlands19 October 2014Marathon, Half-Marathon, 8K31,197[72]
62Tokyo International MarathonTokyoJapan28 February 2010Marathon30,170[73]
63Saint Silvester Road RaceSão PauloBrazil31 December 201815 km30,000[74][75]
64City-BayAdelaideAustralia18 September 201112 km, 6 km29,715[76]
65JPMorgan Corporate ChallengeChicagoUnited States23 May 20195.6 km28,418[citation needed]
66Pat's RunTempe, ArizonaUnited States18 April 20204.2 Miles28,000[77]
67Honolulu MarathonHonolulu, HawaiiUnited States8 December 2002Marathon26,382[78]
68CPC Loop Den HaagThe HagueNetherlands8 March 2015Half-Marathon, 10K, 5k25,425[79]
69Gold Coast MarathonGold CoastAustralia2 July 2017Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10k, 5.7k, 4k, 2k24,909[80]
70Great South RunPortsmouth,United Kingdom30 October 201110 miles24,000[81]
71Marine Corps MarathonWashington, D.C.United States28 October 2012Marathon23,519[82]
72La ParisienneParisFrance9 September 20126.5 km23,510[83]
73Rotterdam MarathonRotterdam,Netherlands12 April 2015Marathon, 1/4 Marathon23,403[84]
74Los Angeles MarathonLos Angeles, CaliforniaUnited States8 March 2020Marathon28,300[73]
75Clean Thagadur Marathon-5KDharmapuri, TamilnaduIndia6 January 20195K21,222[85]
76Seoul International MarathonSeoulSouth Korea13 March 2005Marathon21,067[86]
77Naha MarathonNahaJapan6 December 2009Marathon20,860[82]
78New York City Half MarathonNew York City, New YorkUnited States16 March 2014Half Marathon20,828[87]
79Cardiff Half MarathonCardiff, WalesUnited Kingdom6 October 2019Half Marathon20,309[88]
80Bix 7Davenport, IowaUnited States21 June 19997 miles20,117[89]
  1. ^ bold indicates number of race registrants; not-bold indicates number of race finishers
  2. ^ Participants include 14,291 in the half marathon and 29,895 in the 10 km.

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