What Does the Winner of the Boston Marathon Get
The Boston Marathon is one of the most prestigious racing events for runners. It’s also the oldest in the world and has been going since April 1897.
Since the 89th Boston Marathon, runners started earning prizes for reaching the finish line at the top spots, which serves as an extra incentive and encouragement for a lot of runners to pursue glory in the race.
But what does the winner of the Boston Marathon get?
As of 2022, the winner of the Boston Marathon wins 150,000 USD.
However, other top places in various divisions also walk away with glorious prizes besides all the bragging rights!
If you want to know more about the prizes as well as other information about the marathon, keep on reading this brief guide!
Who Is Responsible for the Boston Marathon?
The Boston Marathon has been organized by the Boston Athletic Association or B.A.A for short.
The association has been responsible for organizing the marathon every year since the marathon’s first event back in 1897.
The marathon was held every year since its inception except in 2020, as the marathon was canceled due to the pandemic and lockdowns.
How Many Runners Participate in the Boston Marathon Every Year?
The number of participants in the Boston Marathon has varied over time.
Since it was first documented in 1986, the marathon’s field size has increased up to 6 or 7 folds, growing from around 4,900 runners up to an average of about 30,000 in the last few years.
Although it was announced in 2020 that the marathon will have a field size of around 31,500 entrants, the 2021 version had only 20,000 entrants while the 2022 version had 30,000.
The largest field size in the history of the marathon was in 1996 when the race had more than 38,000 runners.
Who Hands Out the Prizes for Winning the Boston Marathon?
The Boston Marathon has had a lot of sponsors throughout the years.
The top sponsors of the event are John Hancock Insurance (principal sponsor of the Marathon) and Adidas (the official apparel sponsor of the B.A.A).
As the main sponsors, the prizes for winning the Boston Marathon have been presented by John Hancock since 1986.
However, other race events by the B.A.A, such as the 5K, 10K, and half marathon have other sponsors who hand out the winning prizes.
How Much Money Does The Boston Marathon Offer to Its Champions?
The Boston Marathon includes several divisions, and each of them has different official prize purses for various top spots in the competition.
Ideally, the open division hands out a total of 706,000 USD in prizes while other divisions (wheelchair, masters, and para) will hand out a total of 125,000 USD, 18,000 USD, and 27,500 USD respectively.
In other words, the current tally of prizes for the Boston Marathon is around the 879,500 USD mark.
Since 1986, the Boston Marathon sponsors have handed out a total of more than 20,000,000 USD in prize money to all its past winners, including bonuses for record winners.
What Does the Winner of the Boston Marathon Get? How Much Money?
The prize money of the Boston Marathon winner will vary depending on the division. For instance, the winner of the open division of the marathon will earn a prize purse of 150,000 USD.
What does the winner of the Boston Marathon get in the wheelchair division will earn 25,000 USD and the masters division will receive 5,000 USD.
Lastly, the para division winner will get 1,500 USD, although para-athletes will earn up to 27,500 across the different para-athletic divisions.
What Does the Winner of the Boston Marathon Get?
While the winner of the open division will receive around 150,000 USD as an official prize upon finishing in the first place, the top 10 finishers will also receive official prize money.
Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 spots and what they earn in the Boston Marathon open division:
- 1st place: 150,000 USD
- 2nd place: 75,000 USD
- 3rd place: 45,000 USD
- 4th place: 25,000 USD
- 5th place: 18,000 USD
- 6th place: 13,5000 USD
- 7th place: 10,5000 USD
- 8th place: 8,5000 USD
- 9th place: 7,000 USD
- 10th place: 5,500 USD
Final Thoughts
There you have it! A brief guide that walks you through all the details that you might be curious about regarding the prestigious Boston Marathon and what does the winner of the Boston Marathon get.
As you can see, even the participation in the racing event is a huge achievement for any runner, let alone winning its grand prizes!
You can check the official B.A.A website to find out more about the specific money prize of each winner in different divisions and other races.