Philadelphia Marathon Announces Equal Prize Money for Non-Elite, Female, Male and Non-Binary Athletes

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Philadelphia Marathon will offer cash prizes and awards to the top finishers in three gender categories — men, women and nonbinary — in the open division of its races this year, city officials announced Thursday.

The change applies to the three races that are part of the marathon weekend on November 23 and 24: a half marathon and an 8K on Saturday and a marathon on Sunday.

The open division refers to races for non-professional athletes; the change does not affect men’s and women’s professional races.

According to the website, the top male, female and non-binary runners in the marathon will each receive $4,000. The second-place finisher in each of those categories will receive $2,000 and the third-place finisher will receive $1,000.

There is also a $1,000 prize for the first Philadelphian in each gender category and a $1,000 course record bonus for each.

The top male, female and non-binary runners in the masters category (aged 40 and over) in the marathon will each receive $1,000.

Rewards and prizes are determined based on shooting time.

The prize categories are the same for the half marathon and the 8K, but the dollar amounts are smaller. There is no prize for the first Philadelphian in the half marathon or the 8K, and there is no prize for the course record in the 8K.

In the half marathon, for each gender category:

• 1st place: $2,500
• 2nd place: $1,500
• 3rd place: $1,000
• 1st place master: $500
• Course record: $1,000

In 8K, for each genre category:

• 1st place: $750
• 2nd place: $500
• 3rd place: $250
• 1st place master: $250

The races have featured non-binary categories since 2022, race director Kathleen Titus said in the press release.

Organizers will “take a face-value approach to monitoring all gender categories” in the open division, meaning athletes can select the gender that matches their identity and will not have to provide “supporting evidence,” the announcement said.

Some non-binary runners in 2023 expressed his frustration that prize money was not available to non-binary elite runners.

According to the city, the races are on track to sell out this year.