Monetary awards available to a select few runners based on performance such as bonuses offered by the runner's sponsor are not considered prize money since they are private arrangements and are not available to a broadly defined category of runners. Likewise, appearance money is not considered prize money since these are private arrangements. It includes record and time incentive bonuses, provided such awards are not private arrangements. It is often difficult to obtain prize money distributions from prize money races. Often, publications providing race results omit any mention of prize money distributions.
Some races prefer to keep a low profile with regards to awarding prize money.
With these caveats, the following life-time prize money lists are presented.