These races do not draw names. They sell places until the cap is gone. The date below is when that happened for the current cycle, and the likely date for the next one if the same pattern holds. A likely date is not a promise. Fields get bigger, and a race can sell out earlier than it did last year.
What already sold out
| Race | Race day | Sold out | What that means next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grandma's Marathon | Jun 19, 2027 | Oct 1, 2026, in 174 minutes | Opening night, the October before |
| Garry Bjorklund Half | Jun 19, 2027 | Oct 1, 2026, in 58 minutes | Opening night, faster than the marathon |
| Houston Marathon and Half | Jan 17, 2027 | Before Oct 2026 | Gone before the race year starts |
| Wineglass Marathon | Oct 4, 2026 | By May 18, 2026 | Mid-May the year of the race |
| Richmond Marathon | Nov 14, 2026 | By Jun 15, 2026 | Mid-June the year of the race |
| Philadelphia Marathon and Half | Nov 20–22, 2026 | By Jul 24, 2026 | July the year of the race |
| Indianapolis Monumental | Nov 7, 2026 | By Aug 6, 2026 | Early August the year of the race |
| Richmond 8K | Nov 14, 2026 | By Oct 1, 2026 | The short race goes last |
Philadelphia called the 2026 sellout the earliest in 33 years, about four weeks ahead of the year before, even after adding 3,000 marathon spots. Richmond's marathon sold out for a third straight year, and the whole weekend followed by October 1. Monumental sold out its largest marathon field in August, the earliest in that event's history. Wineglass was gone by May 18 for an October 4 race. Grandma's opened at 7 p.m. Central on October 1 and the 8,000 marathon places were gone in 174 minutes.
Likely sellout for the next running
| Race | Next race | Register by | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grandma's Marathon | Jun 2028 | Opening night, Oct 2027 | 2027 filled in under three hours |
| Houston Marathon | Jan 2028 | The week registration opens, spring 2027 | 2027 marathon and half are already gone |
| Wineglass Marathon | Oct 2027 | Mid-May 2027 | 2026 was sold out by May 18 |
| Richmond Marathon | Nov 2027 | Mid-June 2027 | 2026 was sold out by June 15 |
| Philadelphia Marathon | Nov 2027 | July 2027 | 2026 was gone by late July, earlier than 2025 |
| Indianapolis Monumental | Nov 2027 | Early August 2027 | 2026 was gone by August 6. A short 2027 window also opens race weekend, Nov 5–8, 2026 |
| CIM | Dec 2026 | When registration opens | It fills months before December. There is no late-summer backup |
CIM belongs on this list because a December race that runners use for a Boston qualifier does not stay open until fall. Treat opening day as the sellout window. The same rule fits any fall race that has sold out two years running.
How to use the dates
Enter on the day registration opens if the race sold out in hours. That is Grandma's, and it is Houston once the next window is posted. For Philly, Richmond, Wineglass, and Monumental, the safe week is the week registration opens, not the week of the likely sellout. Those sellout dates moved earlier this year.
A waitlist is not a plan. Richmond keeps one through the deferral deadline. Monumental has one. Wineglass opened one after the May sellout. Spots that come back are cancellations, and they go fast.
Lottery races are a different list. Those windows are in every race lottery. More fall races are on the Pennsylvania, Indiana, Virginia, New York, and California calendars.