By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

Most of my readers may already know about the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series. After all, if you are reading this, most likely you are a runner and may have even completed at least one of the races, if not more. But for those who don’t know about it, or just would like to refresh their knowledge on the subject, I am hereby writing this quick blogpost.

The Abbott World Marathon Majors was established in 2006 with the five, highest-profile races in the globe: New York City, Berlin, Boston, London, Chicago, Then, in 2013, the Tokyo Marathon was added. It is a championship-style group of races in which the Marathon World Championship is awarded. Each series consists on seven races, starting and ending with the same race and then moving on to the next one. The series also includes the Olympic Marathon and the IAAF World Championship on the years those take place. The last completed series was the XII, which started in Berlin 2018 and finished in Berlin 2019. Series XIII has been crippled by Boston going virtual, Berlin and New York cancelled, and London hanging by a thread. Not sure what will the World Marathon majors do about it.

Abbott Laboratories is the title sponsor for the World Marathon Majors Series

The 12 Abbott World Marathon Major Series have been won 11 times by a Kenyan and one by an Ethiopian on the men’s side, and 8 times by a Kenyan, three by a German and one by and Ethiopian on a Women’s side. The current champions are Eliud Kipchoge and his compatriot Brigid Kosegi on the female side. Five runners have won more than one series, with Kipchoge leading the way with four.

But 99.9% of the runners will never, ever get close to scoring a single point on the Abbott World Marathon Major rankings, so what is it in it for them? Abbott has developed a successful marketing campaign in which by crossing the line of any of their runs, you earn what is known as “a star”. Once you complete all six, then you earn the “The Six-Star Medal”, a commemorative piece to memorialize your cumulative achievement. It is one of the most coveted medals in the sport, since it is something you can’t purchase, and it requires an immense investment of time, effort, and money.

Obtaining the Six-Star medal is not about just having the resources to travel to all six destinations or being physically able to complete six marathons. Marathoning has become so popular in the last decade and the Abbott World Marathon Major Series has become so big, that securing a spot in the races is usually the first obstacle for may runners. For Boston you need to qualify and only the faster times get to the starting line, unless you raise funds for charity, which has challenges of its own. London is extremely popular and hitting that lottery could be as difficult as hitting the Power Ball. For New York, Tokyo and Chicago, there are usually over 100 wanna-runs for each spot available. It is said the “easiest” lottery to hit is Berlin, but if that is the perception, more and more runners will gravitate towards that one, making it tougher to hit a spot.

Having earned the Six-Star medal usually makes you a celebrity in your local running community. Fellow runners want to take pictures with you and your medals. It is a cool think to have in your hand. A friend of mine got hers and brought it to our local running store. You feel like you are holding an Olympic medal. It is that cool.

Next week I will post the experience of an actual Six-Star Medal member, Starr Davis, who overcame a series of physical obstacles to earn her medal. Hopefully, you will earn yours, soon and tell us all about it.

For more information on the Abbott World Marathon Majors Series, visit their website by clicking here.