World Marathon Majors Introduces New Prize Structure and Charity Program

The AbbottWMM Series XI begins at the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday, April 23, 2017. Photo: Courtesy of Abbott World Marathon Majors

(c) 2017 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

The Abbott World Marathon Majors announced last week that a new prize money structure would go into effect with AbbottWMM Series XI, which begins at the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday, April 23, 2017, and ends at the same race in 2018.

The series prize money has been restructured to recognize and reward the top-3 men’s and women’s finishers in both the open and wheelchair categories. Previously, only the individual champions received prize money ($500,000 each for the top men and women).

In addition, through a new charity program, a total donation of $280,000 will be made in the name of the race winners of the seven commercial races that make up Series XI, which include the 2017 Virgin Money London, BMW BERLIN, Bank of America Chicago and TCS New York City Marathons, and the 2018 Tokyo, Boston, and Virgin Money London Marathons. The 2017 IAAF World Championships marathon is also part of the series.

Each race winner in the open and wheelchair categories will be honored with an AbbottWMM $10,000 donation, in his or her name, to a charity of his or her choosing.

“The race directors of the Abbott World Marathon Majors want to acknowledge the top three athletes, rather than just the winners, and also to reflect the reason to run for so many of the hundreds of thousands who participate in our races,” said Tim Hadzima, AbbottWMM general manager, in a media statement. “Many of the runners who cross our iconic finish lines every year fundraise an incredible amount of money for charity.”

The current AbbottWMM cycle, Series X, concludes with the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 17, 2017. The leader board positions of athletes contending for the titles can be viewed at worldmarathonmajors.com.

RELATED: 6 Fun Facts About the World Marathon Majors

Races For Series XI

April 23, 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon
August 6, 2017 IAAF World Championships Marathon
September 24, 2017 BMW BERLIN Marathon
October 8, 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
November 5, 2017 TCS New York City Marathon
February 25, 2018 Tokyo Marathon
April 16, 2018 Boston Marathon
April 22, 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon

Scoring System and Prize Money For Series XI

The three athletes in the open and wheelchair divisions with the highest amount of points will be awarded prize money. The scoring remains the same as in past series, with athletes earning points by placing among the top five in Qualifying Races:

1st place – 25 points

2nd place – 16 points

3rd place –  9 points

4th place –  4 points

5th place –  1 point

Prize money will be awarded as follows:

OPEN MEN & WOMEN: $250,000 – 50,000 – 25,000

WHEELCHAIR MEN & WOMEN: $50,000 – 25,000 – 10,000

Charity Program Details

Runners in the six AbbottWMM races raise approximately $150 million for charity every year through individual fundraising. In Series XI, AbbottWMM adds a charity program, donating a total of $280,000 to different charities during the year.

Beginning at the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon, the men’s and women’s open and wheelchair champions will work with race organizers to choose a charity to receive $10,000 in their names, on behalf of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. This will be replicated at each of the Series XI races in Berlin, Chicago, New York City, Tokyo, Boston and London 2018 marathons to result in a total donation of $280,000 from AbbottWMM.

Each race organizer will decide the process for the selection of the charities for their race and full details will be announced by each during the build-up to the race.

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