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The Sydney Marathon will revise its balloting system for the 2027 event after a record number of international applicants resulted in veteran runners being shut out of their local race.
After the race gained prestigious World Major status in 2025, the ballot in October for the 2026 event saw 123,000 people vying for 40,000 spots. With no priority given to local runners, thousands missed out.
Mark Goodwin with his medals from years of competing in the Sydney Marathon, and one for finishing every major in the world.Credit: Steven Siewert
“That scale of interest from both Australian and international participants means that, unfortunately, some committed runners will miss out in any given year, just as they do in London, New York, Boston, Berlin, Tokyo and Chicago,” a spokesperson for the marathon said.
The only runners currently guaranteed entry are the six “Blue Line Legends” who have run every Sydney Marathon since the race’s inception in 2001. However, in response to questions from this masthead, race organisers said they would reconsider ballot rules for the 2027 event.
“We also recognise there is a distinct group of runners who have supported the TCS Sydney Marathon for many years … We are developing a refreshed recognition framework that honours those long-term participants and their contribution to the event,” the spokesperson said.
Sydneysider Mark Goodwin has run 15 Sydney Marathons, qualifying for membership of the Bridge Club – an honour granted by race organisers to athletes who have competed in 10 or more. But though Goodwin is also featured on the marathon’s website, along with 66 other members, he was not afforded priority entry to the 2026 ballot and – for the first time since 2014 – will miss out after failing to secure a spot.
Bridge Club members have never been given priority entry because until this year, they have never needed to. Instead, to boost their bid for World Major status – which requires races to have at least 15,000 finishers – organisers created a program incentivising entry, called the Candidacy Club.
Those who started and finished the race in 2022, 2023 or 2024 were guaranteed entry to 2025, 2026 or 2027, but could only pick one of the three years. Goodwin selected 2025.
The plan worked. In 2023, 13,298 runners finished the race and in 2024, there were 20,272 finishers – well over the 15,000 mark required. Later that year, Sydney was announced as the seventh World Major Marathon.
“I understand, because I’ve done all the world majors,” Goodwin said. “I know they’re massive, and I know Sydney’s only going to grow. But I’m not happy with them becoming a major because now … after doing 15, I might not get to do [another] one now on the luck of the draw. I might miss out next year, the year after, then the year after.”
Over 33,000 runners finished the Sydney Marathon in its first year as a World Major.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The entry ballot has made the dreams of some runners, like 54-year-old Meredith Thornton, come true at last. Thornton, from Arkansas, has spent five years trying to secure a place in a World Major. While there are three in the US – New York, Boston and Chicago – Thornton will have to travel all the way to Sydney to finally compete in a World Major next year.
With about a third of 2025 entrants coming from overseas, a spokesperson for Destination NSW said the marathon’s surging popularity with international runners would provide an even bigger boost for the economy.
“In its first year as an Abbott World Marathon Major, the 2025 event is estimated to have injected more than $22 million into the NSW visitor economy and is projected to contribute a further $109 million over the next two years, supporting businesses and jobs across the state.”
However, Goodwin – who has run all seven majors and some multiple times – believes it is one thing to miss out on a place in a marathon on the other side of the world, but another to miss out on your local race.
“With London and New York, I’ve applied so many times to a ballot and not got in, and [you] just get on with your life after that,” he said. “But this one’s different because I’ve done so many. I just feel like the local guys who have been there for a long time haven’t been looked after,” he said.
Goodwin could opt to secure a spot through a tour company or a charity spot. Most charities require a minimum of $3,000 to be raised, compared to the $250 entry cost for other runners. “It doesn’t sit right with me to have to do that for my own race, which I’ve done 15 times,” Goodwin says.
Nicki Dadic, 43, who has run two Sydney Marathons and used her Candidacy Club year to run in 2025, was successful in the ballot for 2026. While thrilled to get in, Dadic also believes there should be a separate ballot to give priority to runners from the city or across Australia.
Nicki Dadic (centre) training with her club, the Paddo Panthers, in Centennial Park. Credit: Kate Geraghty
“I almost think every city should have that localised ballot so that the local people do have a higher chance of getting in. But at the same time, I also understand that it becomes a big race, you really want to get people moving and travelling between countries.” she said. “Ultimately, running in Sydney it what it is because of the people who do it here.”
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