In 2025, the world's top 50 marathons generated $6 billion in economic impact for their host cities and raised $434 million for charity. TCS-partnered races accounted for 53% of the economic impact and 73% of charitable fundraising.
The findings underline the growing economic, social and charitable value of the world's leading marathons and the role of major marathon partnerships in delivering benefits that extend far beyond the finish line.
The impact is growing. TCS-partnered marathons generated a 28% increase in economic impact in 2025 compared to 2024 and raised an additional 13% for charity over the same period.
David Haigh, Chairman, Brand Finance, said: "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."
Abhinav Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer, TCS, said: “Marathons are integral to our global marketing strategy, combining the power of participation with tangible impact: $3.2 billion of economic uplift for host cities 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, and get inspired. Notably, 36% of marathon runners are business executives. We're proud to help shape what comes next for the sport along with supporting so many of our clients and employees who run with passion every day."
The benefits of marathons extend beyond the economic contribution to host cities. Marathon running can support physical and mental health, foster a sense of belonging, build resilience and improve productivity. These reported benefits were 3.1 times greater for marathoners, who also devoted an estimated 46 million hours to training for TCS-partnered races during the year.
The global running boom is also bringing new participants to the sport. An estimated 520,000 people ran their first marathon in 2025, including nearly 157,000 new runners at TCS-partnered races. Around one in three runners said they had been inspired to take part by another runner, highlighting the influence of the running community in encouraging more people to participate.
The report also measures the impact of marathon sponsorship. Among marathon runners, familiarity with TCS rises to 56%, four times the general-public level and the largest relative uplift of any sponsor studied. TCS-partnered races also reach senior leaders: 18% of marathon runners hold c-suite or board roles, compared with 7% of recreational runners.
The research also points to technology’s next frontier. It finds the marathon industry has largely mastered collecting data but is at an earlier stage in using it. While 37% of race organizers use AI tools, 59% expect AI to have a high impact. Integrating systems is the most cited technology barrier after budget, named by 63% of organizers. Spectators are the least well-served group: 59% of organizers are confident their technology meets runners' needs, compared with just 30% for spectators. Runners want more, with 68% rating smartwatches as very or extremely important to their training and 63% prioritizing an official race app with live tracking on race day.
TCS began supporting marathons nearly two decades ago and currently partners with 14 marathons and running events worldwide, including five of the eight Abbott World Marathon Majors. TCS-partnered races lead the rankings for both brand strength and economic impact. The TCS London Marathon is the world's strongest marathon brand followed by the TCS New York City Marathon, which also leads among international runners and generated the most economic impact of any marathon, an estimated $857 million.
Altogether TCS-partnered marathons and running events engaged nearly 700,000 runners in 2025, creating a global platform for TCS to connect clients, partners, employees and communities while showing how technology can enhance human experiences.