In August 2024, Max Fulton was contemplating a new challenge. He had just finished the Leadville 100, a grueling 100-mile run in the Colorado Rockies, for the 10th time. In fact, he had completed Leadville’s infamous Lead Challenge ten consecutive times, and for the first time in a decade he was considering trying something new.
“I traveled a lot for work these last few years and training to run 100 miles was becoming more and more challenging on the road,” said Fulton. “I was gearing up to run my 7th Boston marathon in 2025 and was intrigued by the Six Star chasers.”
Six Star chasers are people who set out to run all of Abbott’s World Marathons in their lifetime – something more than 20,000 people have done worldwide. While doing all six Majors sounded like a great challenge, 49-year-old Fulton wasn’t interested in just reaching that goal, he wondered if he could do them all in one year.
It was that curiosity that set him on the path to try to get a bib for all six races – Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York. Then in November 2024, just as he was figuring out the lotteries for the international races, Abbott added Sydney as a World Major Marathon.
“It got a little more interesting when they added Sydney because I thought there might be even fewer people chasing seven stars,” said Fulton.
Through perseverance, research, support from family and a lot of luck, Fulton procured entries to all seven of the races in 2025. Last Sunday, he crossed the finish line of the New York marathon, marking the end of his year-long journey to be one of the first people to run all seven of the World Major Marathons in a single year.
While it isn’t clear how many runners accomplished this unbelievable goal in 2025, Fulton has come across a few on social media. Each of those runners appears to have had the support of sponsors and occasional special access to the races. Fulton, a full-time consultant, husband and dad of two, navigated race entries, logistics and training on his own.
“I am incredibly lucky,” said Fulton. “To even be in the position to attempt this is a privilege, but to successfully complete each of the races is a combination of a lot of training, very good luck and great support. I hope I am a good example for my kids about setting goals and making the sacrifices it takes to accomplish them.”
What will 2026 bring? “I’m not sure,” Fulton says. “Maybe 2026 is the year of the bike.”