One runner spent $40,000, another took a second job. Marathoners are making big sacrifices to chase medals worldwide.

When immoderate group travel, they cod fridge magnets aliases changeable glasses. Eugen Godun collects marathon medals.

Last March, the 34-year-old package developer earned the coveted Six Star badge for moving the Boston, Chicago, New York City, London, Berlin, and Tokyo marathons, known arsenic the original World Marathon Majors. When Godun crossed the decorativeness statement successful Japan, he burst into tears, flooded by a substance of pride, happiness, and axenic exhaustion.

Godun started moving successful 2014 and completed his first world marathon successful Poland the pursuing year, shaving an hr disconnected his erstwhile clip of 4 hours and 6 minutes. Over the past decade, his pursuit of medals and faster finishes has taken him from his location successful Kyiv to 8 countries crossed Europe, the US, and Asia.

For amateur runners for illustration Godun, destination races termination respective birds pinch 1 stone: a travel abroad, a major diversion achievement, and immoderate superior bragging rights. Godun is peculiarly proud to beryllium 1 of only 60 Ukrainians recorded arsenic having received a Six Star medal.

For each their rewards, world marathons request plentifulness successful return: picnic days, family time, and money. In 11 years, Godun said he has spent astir $40,000 connected world marathon trips, aliases $5,000 a title connected average.

Godun sometimes wonders wherever he'd beryllium financially if he'd saved the money instead. "Maybe if I switched these marathons for redeeming money, I'd beryllium capable to bargain my ain apartment,” he said.

Even so, he thinks it was worthy it. "I for illustration to walk my money connected experiences, not connected things," Godun added.

The pursuit of far-flung decorativeness lines

Running’s pandemic-era boom shows small motion of fading, and Americans are prioritizing fittingness and experience-led travel.

More than 52.3 cardinal Americans went road-running successful 2025, up much than a cardinal from 2024, according to the Outdoor Industry Association's 2026 Running Report, which is based connected information from the Physical Activity Council. In KPMG's summertime 2026 user survey, half of respondents named physical fitness arsenic their apical wellness priority, while 54% of those readying to recreation much were seeking a circumstantial acquisition aliases event. Destination marathons harvester the two.

Godun has plentifulness of institution successful the costly pursuit of far-flung decorativeness lines. Demand for marathon spots has grown successful caller years, pinch world competitors accounting for an expanding stock of participants, according to information shared pinch Business Insider by 5 of the now-seven World Marathon Majors, the world bid of marathon races.

Since 2023, world applications for the London Marathon person almost tripled, from 89,108 successful 2023 to 258,502 successful 2026, erstwhile the title drew 854,452 applicants overall. The Boston Marathon’s stock of world runners has risen from astir a 4th of the section successful 2023 to astir a 3rd of the 30,000 participants in each of the past 3 years. The Sydney Marathon has seen moreover much melodramatic world growth. The number of overseas finishers jumped from 260 successful 2022 to much than 13,500 of a full 32,963 runners successful 2025, erstwhile it became the seventh World Marathon Major.

“People for illustration a challenge, peculiarly 1 that is reliable but achievable, and completing the six, aliases now seven, title bid has go the eventual moving challenge,” Steven Seaton, the laminitis of the UK-based sports tourism patient 2:09 Events, said. “The truth that the races are difficult and progressively costly to participate only seems to substance greater demand.”

The costs for world competitors entering the World Marathon Majors ranges from astir $237 for Sydney to $333 for New York, earlier accounting for flights, hotels, food, and different costs.

Godun, for example, has tried to trim costs by staying pinch friends, wherever possible, and drawn a statement connected what he’s consenting to spend. He gave up a spot successful the 2026 Sydney Marathon because he couldn't warrant spending thousands of dollars connected flights.

He said he has since started mounting speech astir $1,000 a month, aliases astir 20% of his monthly income, to debar ruling retired early races connected costs alone. Godun has recovered himself moving harder astatine his job, too. “I request to gain much money to beryllium capable to do this,” he said.

A 2nd occupation to support chasing marathon medals

David Boyce, 59, is truthful committed to moving world marathons that he took connected a part-time job lecturing astatine a section assemblage 3 years agone to, successful his words, “feed my addiction.”

The other income has helped the Canadian authorities worker salary for a coach, participate races farther afield, and walk longer overseas exploring the destinations. In the lead-up to a marathon, Boyce prioritizes rest, redeeming the indulgences for later. “Then you tin do each the things that you want to do, for illustration person a beer, person a decadent meal, aliases things for illustration that,” Boyce said.

In his early 40s, Boyce couldn’t person imagined organizing his vacations astir marathons. Then, 16 years ago, he sewage a frightening wake-up telephone erstwhile his bosom began pounding during an uphill motorcycle ride. A alien called an ambulance, and he ended up successful the hospital. “They put a bosom show connected maine and figured retired thing was really wrong,” he said. “I was conscionable really retired of shape.”

He started pinch treadmill running, past moved to 10k runs, earlier completing a section marathon successful 2016. Two years later, he traveled to Chicago for his first world runcation. Now, he’s a Five Star finisher, pinch only Tokyo near to complete the set.

His first marathon took him much than 4 hours. A decade later, arsenic he approaches 60, Boyce is moving person to 3 hours and 30 minutes and is considering pushing himself further pinch an Ironman aliases an ultramarathon.

“For me, it's the consciousness of accomplishment,” he said. “The individual goal, to spot if I tin do it, to push myself to a different limit.”

Boyce said the improvements to his wellness and fittingness make the sacrifices, for illustration having a 2nd job, worthwhile. His extremity is to support “beating backmost the aged man.”

Using up almost each picnic days

As good arsenic money, runcations tin eat up different valuable resource: time.

Next year, Boyce plans to walk 3 of his 4 weeks of picnic successful Japan for the Tokyo Marathon. In the past, Godun has devoted arsenic overmuch arsenic 80% of his 20 days of yearly leave to runcations. Last year, he utilized immoderate of the clip freed up from earning his Six Star connected a two-week beach picnic successful Spain. “It's not for me, this type of pleasure,” he said.

Every year, Kevin Lock, a 45-year-old slope employee, and his wife, who is besides a marathon runner, meticulously representation retired their 4 weeks of picnic days connected a spreadsheet. They allot their clip disconnected betwixt races and different individual travel, prioritizing races held astir national holidays to sphere picnic days.

The mates doesn't ever title together. Since 2022, Lock has tally 3 marathons, including New York, Chicago, and Boston, arsenic good arsenic 16 half-marathons crossed the US. His wife, meanwhile, ran the Sydney Marathon without him.

The couple, based successful Charlotte, North Carolina, is arsenic strategical pinch money. “I'm reasonably crafty astatine utilizing credit paper points,” Lock said. He mostly uses his points for flights to and from races, while his woman uses hers for hotels, helping them “minimize the financial impact” of marathon trips.

They tie from a excavation of savings, replenish it regularly, and salary disconnected their in installments paper balances successful afloat each month. “We want to do these things,” Lock said, “but not astatine the forfeit of going into debt.”

Losing retired connected family time

Not each costs tin beryllium offset pinch credit-card points, observant budgeting, aliases a picnic spreadsheet. For Vincent Hsu, a expert based successful Orlando, money isn’t a immense concern. The biggest trade-off has been family time.

“I'm trying to equilibrium my wanting to really execute moving goals that I ne'er thought imaginable pinch the request to make judge that I americium tending to the needs of my family,” he said.

Hsu said he tries to train early successful the morning while his woman and 15-year-old boy are asleep. Even so, the trips distant for races and the sheer magnitude of clip he spends training person some go “stressors” astatine home. His woman sometimes asks, “Oh, you're moving again?”

“I'm a small spot sheepish astir that,” he said.

Next March, Hsu plans to tally the Tokyo Marathon, but he doesn't cognize whether his wife, who often likes to travel on connected trips, tin subordinate him. They haven't yet recovered personification they spot to return attraction of their teenage son.

For each the sacrifices, moving has contributed to important weight loss, introduced him to caller friends, and fixed him a consciousness of accomplishment. It has proved difficult to stop, too. “It is addictive,” he said.

Hsu said the prestige of joining the Six Star badge nine is besides portion of the motivation. “It's a awesome goal. It's coveted. It's desired,” he said. “People are jealous. I readily admit that.”

For globe-trotting marathon runners, the medals whitethorn beryllium priceless. Collecting them is thing but.

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