The Complete List Of The 100 Largest Races In The United States (2024)

And how the pandemic has lingering effects on registration rates

Written by

Jessy Carveth

Pro Cyclist, Track Runner, Bachelor of Kinesiology with Nutrition

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Key Insights and Metrics

The compiled data reflects total finishers across various event categories, such as 5K, 10K, Half, and Full marathons, based on publicly available results for each race weekend.

Noteworthy exclusions include untimed events, encompassing some popular point-to-point races and Turkey Trots.

Unveiling the Dynamics of The Largest Races Of 2023

Overcoming Challenges Left From The Pandemic

The 2023 finisher totals for the top 100 races reflect a substantial improvement over the previous year.
However, the looming impact of the pandemic persists, with many of the larger races (exceeding 5,000 participants) grappling to match the robust registration levels seen in 2019, while smaller races seem to be surpassing pre-pandemic participation.

Statistical Revelations

The 2023 top 100 list boasts 1,604,820 participants, a commendable increase from 2022’s 1,389,528. However, it falls short of the 1,874,586 participants recorded in the 2019 list, marking a noticeable decline of 14%.
The 100th largest race in 2019 hosted 9,456 participants, a figure that dwindled to 7,175 in 2023.
While 33 races surpassed the 20,000-participant mark in 2019, only 25 achieved this milestone in 2023.
Encouragingly, 88 out of the 98 races with a 2022 event witnessed growth in attendance over the past year, signaling a positive trajectory.
Similarly, 31 out of the 93 races with a 2019 event reported increased attendance compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The Complete List Of The 100 Largest Races In The United States (4)

The Five Biggest Races In The US

5) Boston Marathon + BAA 5K

Location: Boston, MA
2023 participants: 35,445
2022 participants: 32,997
2019 participants: 35,127
Change ‘19-’23: 1%
Change ‘22-’23: 7%

4) AJC Peachtree Road Race

Location: Atlanta, GA
2023 participants: 37,557
2022 participants: 34,877
2019 participants: 60,636
Change ‘19-’23: -38%
Change ‘22-’23: 8%

3) Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend

Location: Lake Buena Vista, FL
2023 participants: 39,906
2022 participants: 34,545
2019 participants: 42,342
Change ‘19-’23: -6%
Change ‘22-’23: 16%

2) Bank of America Chicago Marathon + 5K

Location: Chicago, IL
2023 participants: 57,640
2022 participants: 42,784
2019 participants: 45,852
Change ‘19-’23: 26%
Change ‘22-’23: 35%

1) TCS New York City Marathon + Dash to the Finish Line 5K

Location: New York City, NY
2023 participants: 61,480
2022 participants: 58,852
2019 participants: 53,519
Change ‘19-’23: 15%
Change ‘22-’23: 4%

The compilation of data over the course of years demonstrates the resilience of running events across the country, yet also the challenges many still face as a result of the pandemic.

The Complete List Of The 100 Largest Races In The United States (5)

You can find the full list below:

2023 Rank	2023	2022	2019	Change ’19-’23	Change ’22-’23	Name	Location	Registration Provider 2023
1	61,480	58,852	53,519	15%	4%	TCS New York City Marathon + Dash to the Finish Line 5K	New York City, NY	In-House
2	57,640	42,784	45,852	26%	35%	Bank of America Chicago Marathon + 5K	Chicago, IL	Haku
3	39,906	34,545	42,342	-6%	16%	Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend	Lake Buena Vista, FL	Haku
4	37,557	34,877	60,636	-38%	8%	AJC Peachtree Road Race	Atlanta, GA	Haku
5	35,445	32,997	35,127	1%	7%	Boston Marathon + BAA 5K	Boston, MA	In-House
6	35,007	28,582	41,197	-15%	22%	Bolder Boulder	Boulder, CO	Configio
7	29,946	19,860	31,325	-4%	51%	Flying Pig Marathon Weekend	Cincinnati, OH	Race Roster
8	28,394	21,898	25,729	10%	30%	Philadelphia Marathon, Half Marathon, and Rothman Institute 8K	Philadelphia, PA	Race Roster
9	28,025	20,474	34,565	-19%	37%	Blue Cross Broad Street Run	Philadelphia, PA	RunSignup
10	26,287	23,657	32,362	-19%	11%	Disney Princess Half Marathon	Orlando, FL	Haku
11	26,113	18,821	32,285	-19%	39%	Hot Chocolate Run – Chicago	Chicago, IL	EnMotive
12	25,773	21,018	34,832	-26%	23%	Lilac Bloomsday Run	Spokane, WA	Click Management
13	25,544	22,590	25,168	1%	13%	Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend	Orlando, FL	Haku
14	25,416	18,824	26,818	-5%	35%	RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon	Brooklyn, NY	In-House
15	24,769	22,356	24,659	0%	11%	United Airlines NYC Half	New York, NY	In-House
16	24,385	21,922	26,967	-10%	11%	Honolulu Marathon	Honolulu, HI	Real Buzz
17	23,636	16,750	20,140	17%	41%	Pittsburgh Marathon	Pittsburgh, PA	Race Roster
18	23,520	21,478	24,709	-5%	10%	Chevron Houston Marathon / Aramco Half Marathon / ABB 5K	Houston, TX	Haku
19	22,612	16,716	20,358	11%	35%	Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile	Washington, DC	MarathonGuide
20	22,365	16,025	29,187	-23%	40%	Cooper River Bridge Run	Charleston, SC	Race Roster
21	21,797	16,781	17,930	22%	30%	Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego	San Diego, CA	Active
22	21,628	20,397	–	–	6%	runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend	Orlando, FL	Haku
23	20,918	13,362	17,587	19%	57%	San Francisco Marathon	San Francisco, CA	RunSignup
24	20,566	23,282	28,701	-28%	-12%	Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas	Las Vegas, NV	Active
25	20,201	18,944	19,702	3%	7%	St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend	Memphis, TN	Blackbaud
26	19,521	16,772	20,781	-6%	16%	Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle	Chicago, IL	Haku
27	18,209	14,182	23,060	-21%	28%	Pat’s Run	Tempe, AZ	RunSignup
28	18,009	12,701	19,216	-6%	42%	St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville	Nashille, TN	Active
29	17,704	14,696	19,535	-9%	20%	Lifetime Miami Marathon, Half Marathon & Tropical 5K	Miami, FL	ChronoTrack Live
30	17,583	12,008	25,107	-30%	46%	Army Ten Miler	Washington, DC	Active
31	17,144	16,330	23,426	-27%	5%	Oneamerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon	Indianapolis, IN	RunSignup
32	16,809	12,308	26,096	-36%	37%	Los Angeles Marathon	Los Angeles, CA	Active
33	16,803	13,343	9,518	77%	26%	BMW Dallas Marathon	Dallas, TX	Race Roster
34	16,661	9,830	18,852	-12%	69%	The Cowtown Marathon	Fort Worth, TX	Race Roster
35	16,554	12,659	18,806	-12%	31%	Detroit Free Press Marathon	Detroit, MI	EnMotive
36	16,379	8,425	10,750	52%	94%	OC Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K	New Port Beach, CA	RunSignup
37	16,358	7,006	18,957	-14%	133%	Grandma’s Marathon – Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon	Duluth, MN	Race Roster
38	16,305	17,702	19,965	-18%	-8%	Yuengling Shamrock Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8K	Virginia Beach, VA	Haku
39	15,415	12,474	26,476	-42%	24%	Gasparilla Distance Classic Race Weekend	Tampa, FL	Race Roster
40	15,388	15,076	16,864	-9%	2%	Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot	San Jose, CA	RunSignup
41	15,091	13,650	–	–	11%	Bay Bridge Run	Annapolis, MD	RunSignup
42	14,983	12,129	20,170	-26%	24%	Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10K	Richmond, VA	RunSignup
43	14,769	3,761	–	–	293%	JP Morgan Corporate Challenge- NY	New York, NY	In-House
44	14,560	12,358	15,382	-5%	18%	Richmond Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8K	Richmond, VA	RunSignup
45	13,992	12,540		–	12%	Hood To Coast	Seaside Beach, Oregon	In-House
46	13,382	12,365	12,752	5%	8%	Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio	San Antonio, TX	Active
47	13,379	10,154	13,914	-4%	32%	Ascension Seton Austin Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K	Austin, TX	EventDog
48	13,204	11,734	cancelled	–	13%	Statesman Capitol 10K	Austin, TX	EnMotive
49	13,009	11,413	12,616	3%	14%	Gate River Run	Jacksonville, FL	Race Roster
50	12,961	9,483	13,130	-1%	37%	Rock ‘n’ Roll DC	Washington, DC	Active
51	12,839	9,066	11,314	13%	42%	Rocky Run	Philadelphia, PA	Active
52	12,418	8,470	14,348	-13%	47%	Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon	Oklahoma City, OK	Haku
53	12,339	11,273	13,333	-7%	9%	Santa Cruz to Capitola Wharf to Wharf Race	Santa Cruz, CA	Race Roster
54	12,213	10,232	13,106	-7%	19%	Detroit Thanksgiving Parade Turkey Trot	Detroit, MI	USA and Motion
55	11,887	11,360	12,414	-4%	5%	New Balance Bronx 10 Miler	New York, NY	In-House
56	11,858	16,782	18,336	-35%	-29%	Bay to Breakers	San Francisco, CA	Lets Do This
57	11,735	19,327	5,794	103%	-39%	NYCRUNS Brooklyn Marathon & Half	New York, NY	In-House
58	11,560	8,874	9,456	22%	30%	Long Beach Marathon and Half Marathon	Long Beach, CA	Active
59	11,550	8,673	11,396	1%	33%	Surf City USA Marathon and Half Marathon	Huntington Beach, CA	Active
60	11,534	11,143	13,510	-15%	4%	Wheeler Mission Drumstick Dash	Indianapolis, IN	RunSignup
61	11,439	9,851	7,845	46%	16%	Denver Colfax Marathon	Denver, CO	Race Roster
62	11,371	9,171	26,106	-56%	24%	Marine Corps Marathon	Washington, DC	Haku
63	11,355	10,548	11,854	-4%	8%	NYRR Queens 10K	Queens, NY	In-House
64	11,046	9,534	11,912	-7%	16%	Buffalo Niagara YMCA Turkey Trot	Buffalo, NY	RunSignup
65	10,950	11,921	12,948	-15%	-8%	Rock ‘n’ Roll – Arizona	Phoenix, AZ	Active
66	10,863	9,124	12,530	-13%	19%	Columbus Marathon	Columbus, OH	RunSignup
67	10,712	11,520	16,182	-34%	-7%	Indianapolis Monumental Marathon	Indianapolis, IN	Haku
68	10,570	8,600	10,403	2%	23%	The Spring Lake 5 Miler	Spring Lake, NJ	RunSignup
69	10,242	8,416	13,942	-27%	22%	Crescent City Classic	New Orleans, LA	RunSignup
70	10,165	8,870	8,040	26%	15%	California International Marathon	Sacramento, CA	Race Roster
71	10,137	8,348	15,569	-35%	21%	Utica Boilermaker Road Race	Utica, NY	RunSignup
72	9,984	10,060	17,020	-41%	-1%	Baltimore Running Festival	Baltimore, MD	RunSignup
73	9,906	8,758	10,723	-8%	13%	Shamrock Run Portland	Portland, OR	Active
74	9,869	6,098	6,986	41%	62%	Big Sur International Marathon	Big Sur, CA	Haku
75	9,590	8,360	9,956	-4%	15%	Manchester Road Race	Manchester, CT	Race Roster
76	9,465	6,115	8,556	11%	55%	Thanksgiving Day Race	Cincinnati, OH	GetMeRegistered
77	9,453	7,823	9,972	-5%	21%	NYRR Staten Island Half Marathon	New York, NY	In-House
78	9,259	–	17,768	-48%	–	Lexus Corporate Run – Miami	Miami, FL	Haku
79	9,198	8,609	11,544	-20%	7%	Falmouth Road Race	Falmouth, MA	Race Roster
80	8,594	6,097	9,647	-11%	41%	Quad City Times Bix	Davenport, IA	Haku
81	8,586	8,512	9,276	-7%	1%	New Balance 5th Avenue 1 Miler	New York, NY	In-House
82	8,572	6,851	9,673	-11%	25%	Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon, 5K, Mile & Dash	Atlanta, GA	Haku
83	8,535	6,590	6,900	24%	30%	Big House 5K	Ann Arbor, MI	RunSignup
84	8,475	8,329	8,536	-1%	2%	Lifetime Chicago Half Marathon & 5K presented by HOKA	Chicago, IL	ChronoTrack Live
85	8,376	6,062	7,971	5%	38%	Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose	San Jose, CA	Active
86	8,371	7,402	8,880	-6%	13%	NYRR New York Mini 10K	New York, NY	In-House
87	8,358	6,771	5,356	56%	23%	Mile High United Way Turkey Trot	Denver, CO	Events.com
88	8,329	7,250	8,000	4%	15%	Dana Point Turkey Trot	Dana Point, CA	Active
89	7,935	6,544	6,835	16%	21%	CPI Security Charlotte Turkey Trot	Charlotte, NC	RunSignup
90	7,829	5,144	8,003	-2%	52%	BAA 10K	Boston, MA	In-House
91	7,790	8,165	6,109	28%	-5%	Run as One 4Miler	New York, NY	In-House
92	7,711	7,878	10,817	-29%	-2%	Hot Chocolate Run – Dallas	Dallas, TX	EnMotive
93	7,676	–	–	–	–	Hot Chocolate Run – Phoenix	Phoenix, AZ	EnMotive
94	7,518	6,078	9,761	-23%	24%	Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon	Louisville, KY	RunSignup
95	7,391	4,789	–	–	54%	JP Morgan Corporate Challenge- Chicago	Chicago, IL	In-House
96	7,288	6,915	5,006	46%	5%	O’Side Turkey Trot	Oceanside, CA	Race Roster
97	7,277	8,015	9,457	-23%	-9%	Hot Chocolate Run – Atlanta	Atlanta, GA	EnMotive
98	7,233	6,089	8,702	-17%	19%	Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend	Atlanta, GA	Haku
99	7,192	6,049	7,959	-10%	19%	Eversource Hartford Marathon	Hartford, CT	Haku
100	7,175	6,684	9,636	-26%	7%	HAP CareSource CRIM Festival of Races	Flint, MI	Race Roster

Jessy Carveth

Jessy has been active her whole life, competing in cross-country, track running, and soccer throughout her undergrad. She pivoted to road cycling after completing her Bachelor of Kinesiology with Nutrition from Acadia University. Jessy is currently a professional road cyclist living and training in Spain.