[1] The Labels are considered a prestigious award by race organisers,[3][4][5] and include the seven World Marathon Majors.

All categories require what the World Athletics describes as an international elite field, that requires at least five nations for the highest labels to be represented by runners with times faster than the World Athletics's guidelines.

Additionally, the race course must be closed to vehicular traffic, and measured to the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) standard, with full electronic timing used to generate the results.

[6] A third tier was introduced in 2010, entitled the Bronze Label,[7] and in 2015, 88 races were listed in total.

The criteria vary for the different levels;[11] The race must be organised in a way that minimizes ecological damage to the surrounding areas.