The world’s leading marathons are creating impact far beyond race day, strengthening economies, supporting charities, improving wellbeing and inspiring new runners.
For TCS, marathons are a powerful force for good, creating value for communities, charities, and runners. That impact is reflected in the Brand Finance Marathons 50 report, now in its second edition, which ranks the world’s strongest marathon brands. The ranking is based on original research into how runners around the world know, perceive, and engage with each race.
The marathon ripple effect
The marathon movement creates a ripple effect, inspiring more people to run, multiplying the well-being benefits of participation and contributing to healthier, more connected communities.
More than 520,000 people completed their first marathon at one of the world’s 50 strongest marathons in 2025, with one in three marathoners inspired to run by someone else.
Running already delivers powerful benefits, and taking on a marathon amplifies them. Marathon runners report higher levels of wellbeing than other runners, seeing a 3.1x boost to levels of belonging, productivity, resilience, and physical and mental health
The world’s 50 strongest marathon brands generated around 160 million hours of physical activity through training and racing in 2025, turning individual participation into collective impact.
Abhinav Kumar
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, TCS
Marathons are integral to our global marketing strategy, combining the power of participation with tangible impact: $3.2 billion for host economies and $315 million raised for charity in 2025 is a fantastic achievement. Few other sports partnerships bring people together in quite the same way. You don't just watch a marathon; you run it, volunteer, cheer, or support someone taking on a personal challenge.
David Haigh
Chairman, Brand Finance
Marathons are among the most powerful sports properties we study, combining mass participation with significant economic, social and charitable impact. Long-term partners like TCS have helped accelerate that value by going beyond traditional sponsorship, bringing technology, innovation and sustained investment to evolve what marathons can deliver for runners, host cities, charities and communities to extend their impact long after the last runner has crossed the finish line.
AI increasingly enhances the marathon experience, with 37% of race organisers already using AI and 59% expecting it to have a high impact. By understanding six distinct runner profiles, organisers and partners can use AI and data to personalise everything from training and fuelling to race-day guidance, recovery, and spectator engagement.