One of the great road marathons of the world will be run on November 6th 2011. The New York Marathon attracts many world-class professional athletes, partly for the $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel before two million cheering spectators and 315 million worldwide television viewers.

As any one of the more than 700,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime.

Around the world, the word “marathon” is synonymous with New York City. Before the New York race began, marathons were modest events attended and run by a few athletes and sports fans interested in the limits of human endurance. New York Road Runners and marathon co-founder Fred Lebow changed that.

Today marathons are huge media events that take over entire cities. None is as prominent or overpowering as the New York Marathon.  The modern marathon owes its start - and its world-class status - to New York.

The first New York City Marathon, though, was a humble affair. In 1970, 127 runners paid the $1 entry fee to participate in a 26.2-mile race that looped several times around Central Park. Fifty-five runners crossed the finish line.

When Lebow re-drew the course through all five New York boroughs six years later, not many could appreciate his vision. But 2,090 runners lined up at the start for the chance to run through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan.

The expanded course attracted two-time Olympic marathon medalist Frank Shorter, along with reporters and television cameras. Thousands of spectators lined the streets and cheered the runners. By reconfiguring the course, Lebow had drawn the city together and attracted recognition around the world.

Dash for the cash

In January 2006 “The World Marathon Majors” - a series consisting of five of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world was established.

The events include New York, Boston, London, Berlin, and Chicago (pictured), as well as the Olympic Marathon and IAAF World Championships, which serve as the Qualifying Races in the series. At the conclusion of each Qualifying Race, the top five male and female finishers are awarded points based on their finish place.

At the conclusion of each two-year series, a $1 million prize purse is split equally between the top male and female point earners. The $1 million prize is awarded annually meaning that each two-year series overlaps. The inaugural series was 2006-2007, followed by 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and so on.

The total score for each athlete in a series consists of points earned from a maximum of four Qualifying Races during that two-year cycle. To be eligible for the jackpot, an athlete must compete in a minimum of one Qualifying Race during each year of the series.

London: Since its inaugural running in 1981, The London Marathon has developed a global reputation for being a fast, record-setting course. Each year The London Marathon hosts representatives from more than 50 countries to compete on this world stage. Elite runners compete for a portion of $295,000, while the fairly flat, city landscape and spring climate combine to provide the best backdrop for posting records - personal, national and world. An estimated one million spectators turned out last year to watch more than 33,000 runners complete the course.

Boston: Inspired by their experience at the 1896 Olympic Games, several members of the Boston Athletic Association founded their own marathon in 1897. The race has been run every year since (though the 1918 edition featured a military relay rather than an individual race) and is now the world’s oldest annual marathon. Both the start and finish lines have been moved over the years, but much of the original course remains exactly as it was first designed. Since 1924 the race has begun in the town of Hopkinton and gradually rises to the famous Heartbreak Hill. As runners reach the top, they can see downtown Boston for the first time, four miles in the distance. Last year about 20,000 runners finished, hoping for a share of the $575,000 purse, as an estimated half-million spectators cheered them on.

Berlin: Established in 1974, it was not until 1981 that the race moved from the Grunewald (a seriously big forest) into the city centre of West Berlin. Supported by the three western allied forces (Britain, France and U.S.), it quickly developed into Germany’s biggest and best quality marathon. It was after the Berlin Wall collapsed in November 1989 when a new era started. On September 30th 1990, three days before reunification, the course of the Berlin Marathon led through Brandenburg Gate and both parts of Berlin. In 2001 Naoko Takahashi became the first woman to break the 2:20 barrier in Berlin. Last year more than 30,000 runners completed the flat, fast course, fighting for a slice of the $340,000 prize money.

Chicago: Since its inaugural running in 1977, Chicago Marathon has developed a global reputation as a fast, record-setting course. Year after year Chicago Marathon hosts representatives from more than 120 countries to compete on this world stage.  Elite runners compete for a portion of $650,000, the largest prize purse in the sport, while the flat, city landscape and cool, fall climate combine to provide the best backdrop for posting records - personal, national and world.  32,000 runners completed last time.

The inaugural 2006-2007 series of the World Marathon Majors was launched at the 110th running of the Boston Marathon on April 17th 2006 and concluded on November 4th 2007 at the New York City Marathon.

The points of winning

Athletes earn points by placing among the top five in Qualifying Races during the two-year period. Points are allocated following each race as follows:

1st place 25 points
2nd place 15 points
3rd place 10 points
4th place 5 points
5th place 1 point

2011
April 18: Boston Marathon
April 17: London Marathon
August 27: IAAF World Championships Women’s Marathon (Daegu, Korea)
September 4: IAAF World Championships Men’s Marathon (Daegu, Korea)
September 25: Berlin Marathon
October 9: Chicago Marathon
November 6: New York City Marathon

• For a run-down on the health benefits of running, check out this report in our Fitness section.