Paris Marathon 2027: How the New Lottery Works and How to Enter

If you have run Paris before, forget how you got your bib. For 2027 the race has dropped the first come, first served scramble and moved to a lottery. Refreshing the page at two in the afternoon on opening day no longer helps anybody.

The Paris Marathon 2027 takes place on Sunday 4 April 2027, the entry fee is 169 euros, and applying to the draw costs nothing. This guide covers how the lottery actually works, the 72-hour rule that catches people out, what is confirmed and what is not, and what to do with the months between the draw and the start line.

1. The key facts at a glance
2. How to enter, step by step
3. The Paris Half Marathon 2027
4. What is still not confirmed
5. What to do while you wait
6. Paris Marathon 2027 FAQ

The key facts at a glance

The counter-intuitive part

The organiser states plainly that the date you apply has no effect on your chances. Rushing on day one buys you nothing. What matters is simply not forgetting to apply before the window shuts, which is a different kind of mistake and a far more common one among runners living abroad.

The event also has a new title partner and runs under the name ASICS Marathon de Paris. Everything official goes through the organiser’s own site, which has a full English version.

How to enter, step by step

Four steps, and only one of them has a deadline short enough to hurt you.

Submit your application

You apply on the official platform during the open window. It is free and no payment details are requested at this stage. If a site asks for your card in order to enter the draw, you are not on the official platform.

You are entered automatically

Once your details are validated you are in the draw. There is nothing else to do and nothing to improve. No qualifying time is required for a general entry.

Watch your inbox from 1 October

From 1 October 2026 you receive an email telling you whether you have a bib. Check your spam folder as a matter of course, because race organiser emails land there with depressing regularity.

The 72-hour rule

If you are drawn, you have 72 hours to complete your entry and pay. Miss it and the place goes back into the pool. This is the real trap in the system: the draw can land while you are travelling or away, and three days disappears fast. Put a reminder in your calendar for 1 October before you do anything else.

One more warning. A race this size attracts unofficial pre-registration pages that harvest email addresses and occasionally take payments. No third-party site can sell you an official general entry. If you are not on the organiser’s domain, close the tab.

The Paris Half Marathon 2027

The half follows exactly the same logic, since it sits under the same concession contract.

• Date: Sunday 7 March 2027.
• Entry fee: 79 euros.
• Lottery as well, with the same timetable: applications from 8 September 2026, results from 1 October.
• Three entry formats: individual, team of two to six runners, or a charity bib supporting partner associations.

A month between the half and the marathon is a workable gap: a March half becomes an excellent dress rehearsal for an April marathon. The catch is that it needs two bibs, therefore two draws, and nothing guarantees you both. Plan your build assuming you get the marathon only, and treat the half as a bonus.

What is still not confirmed

This is where most race guides quietly invent things, so here is the honest version.

• The closing date of the application window. The date of 30 September 2026 circulates widely in the specialist press, but the official pages only state that applications opened on 8 September. Treat it as a deadline not to be crossed rather than as a guarantee, and apply early.
• The exact route. A new organiser has taken over and course details for 2027 are not something to assume from previous editions.
• Charity and tour operator allocations, which historically exist but whose 2027 terms are not published in detail.

If any of these change, the useful reflex is to check the organiser’s own English pages rather than a third-party aggregator, since the aggregators copy each other and errors survive for months.

What to do while you wait

The gap between applying and the start line is roughly six months, which is close to an ideal marathon build if you use it rather than wait through it.

Build the base before the block

Whatever your target, the weeks before a dedicated marathon block are for consistent easy volume, not for hard sessions. If you are coming back from a quiet year, the sensible on-ramp is a structured shorter plan first: our 8-week 10K plan gives the structure without the fatigue of marathon mileage.

Train your nutrition, not just your legs

Marathon day is where untested nutrition goes wrong, and Paris in April is warm enough for it to matter. Work out your carbohydrate per hour now and rehearse it on every long run. Our guide to how many energy gels you actually need covers the dose by distance and the timing.

Sort out the logistics early

Paris fills up around the marathon weekend. If you are travelling in, accommodation and the bib collection expo are worth planning well before March, not in the week you taper.

Paris Marathon 2027 FAQ

Is there a qualifying time for the Paris Marathon?

No qualifying time is required for a general entry through the lottery. Paris has always been an open, mass-participation marathon, and the move to a draw does not change that.

Does applying early improve my odds?

No. The organiser is explicit that the application date has no influence on selection. The only advantage of applying early is that you cannot then forget.

What happens if I am not selected?

You pay nothing, since applying is free. Runners who miss out typically look at charity bibs or at other spring marathons. Following the official World Athletics label races gives you a sense of which alternatives sit at a comparable standard.

Can I transfer or defer my bib?

Transfer and deferral terms are set by the organiser and have not been published in full for 2027. Do not assume the previous rules carry over, given the change of organising body.

Is the Paris course fast?

Historically Paris is considered a flat, quick big-city course, which is a large part of its appeal to runners chasing a personal best. That said, the 2027 route is not confirmed, so build your pacing plan when the course is published rather than from memory.

The short version: the Paris Marathon 2027 is on 4 April, entry runs through a free lottery with results from 1 October, and the only thing that can genuinely cost you a place is missing the 72-hour confirmation window. Apply, set the reminder, and start building the base now rather than in January!

Details checked on 19 September 2026 against the organiser’s official pages. Dates, fees and terms are set by the organiser and can change.