World’s Fastest Marathons – January 2026 edition released
The January 2026 edition is now live, presenting the full rankings for all included races. Data is drawn from publicly reported results and presented using Sub-3’s standard methodology.
The January 2026 edition of the World’s Fastest Marathons is now live. This release marks the first monthly update of the 2026 cycle, continuing our focus on identifying the road marathons that consistently deliver the strongest conditions for sub-3 performance.
The Sub-3 World’s Fastest Marathons lists are based on verified finisher data, with an emphasis on depth rather than reputation. Rather than focusing on elite results or marketing claims, the rankings measure how well races perform for fast amateur runners, balancing the proportion of sub-3 finishers, the absolute number of sub-3s, and the fastest winning time. The methodology remains unchanged for 2026, ensuring direct comparability with previous editions.
January occupies a distinctive place in the marathon calendar. In several regions, particularly across Asia and the Middle East, it offers some of the most runnable conditions of the year. Elsewhere, only a small number of established road marathons take place. The result is a compact set of races that tend to attract runners already in strong early-season shape, producing fields that are smaller overall but often highly competitive at the front end.
The January 2026 rankings reflect that dynamic. Familiar benchmark races continue to feature prominently, reinforcing their reputations as reliable early-season options for fast times. At the same time, there are notable shifts within the table, driven by changes in field depth and participation rather than isolated elite performances. As in previous years, the rankings highlight the difference between sheer scale and genuine competitiveness, with some mid-sized races outperforming larger events on sub-3 depth.
This release forms part of the wider 2026 World’s Fastest Marathons programme, which will update monthly throughout the year. Each monthly edition captures a snapshot of performance conditions at that point in the calendar, building toward the full annual Sub-3 World Marathon Rankings.
The full January 2026 rankings, including all included races and banded performance data, are available now.
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