Annotation

International mass sport holds paramount social importance, as recognized by the leadership of most countries worldwide. At the same time, commercialization processes that unfold actively both in elite and mass sports adversely affect its accessibility for athletes, particularly with regard to their participation in competitions of various types and scales. Athletics, especially its running disciplines including international road marathons, is considered the most popular and widely practiced sport globally. The issue of accessibility to such events for athletes from different countries, as well as the development of instruments for assessing this accessibility, remains highly relevant. This study explores the affordability of participation in the world’s largest marathons for citizens of the host countries. The research presents a comparative analysis of registration fees (converted to 2021 constant US dollars) relative to household final consumption expenditure (HFCE per capita, PPP, constant prices) and gross national income per capita (GNI per capita, PPP). The analysis includes the Moscow, Berlin, Tokyo, New York, and Melbourne marathons held between 2019 and 2023. The study reveals that despite differences in absolute prices, the relative burden on households in 2021 ranges from 7% to 9.5% of monthly HFCE (approximately 2.2–2.9 days of consumption), and from 2% to 5% of monthly GNI per capita (0.5–1.6 days of income). Over the period 2019–2023, the relative burden decreased in Moscow and New York, while it increased in Tokyo, Berlin, and Melbourne. These findings support the hypothesis of an “economic invariance of affordability” and highlight the importance of using multiple macroeconomic indicators to ensure reliable comparative conclusions and effective management decisions.