The Mount Marathon Race Committee and race organizers have made the following changes for the 2026 season:
1) The Skip-A-Year option has been eliminated for the 2026 race.
Skip-A-Year, the no-questions-asked deferral that runners could use once in their racing lifetime, has been eliminated beginning in 2026.
Approved Skip-A-Years from 2025 will still be honored and those individuals will receive a priority invitation on March 1 for 2026 registration.
The Mount Marathon Race Committee voted to eliminate Skip-A-Year as it was deemed too great a benefit for priority racers at the expense of lottery hopefuls. Lottery odds are therefore expected to rise beginning in 2027 given that more than 50 additional lottery spots will be available compared to when Skip-A-Year was in effect.
In 2026 and beyond, entrants with extenuating circumstances who are unable to race may still petition the race committee the following year and make their case for why they should be granted a bib.
2) Team Competition Added
Mount Marathon will once again have a team competition beginning in 2026.
Teams may include individuals from all race divisions: women, men, boys, girls, Golden Racer and non-binary. Each team can have as many members as they wish with the top five performances counting toward their team score. Scoring will match cross country running (1 point for first place, 2 for 2nd place, etc …) with the lowest team score winning.
Prizes will be given for the top team, the best team name, the team with the most members, and more.
Team registration will open once the 2026 roster is published in early April and additional registration details will be publicized then.
3) Race From the Base for ages 7-10 Added
A new event, Race From the Base, will debut in 2026 for 7-to-10-year-olds.
The event will start around 9:10 a.m. once all participants in the boys’ and girls’ races have cleared the Upper Lowell Canyon Road gate.
The Race From the Base will then run downhill about 2/3 of a mile from the gate to the finish line on Fourth Avenue.
Ribbons will be given to the top 6 boys and girls but times will not be recorded.
The event is designed to give 7- and 8-year-olds an opportunity to compete after the minimum age for juniors was raised to 9 in 2024. It will also provide an option for 9- and 10-year-olds who lose the junior lottery or are not yet ready for the full junior event.
Registration and bib distribution will be on race day only from 8-9 a.m. at the picnic table near the Lowell Canyon Road gate.
A pending page on the Mount Marathon website will provide additional details.