Apr 26, 2024
Boston Marathon Qualifiers - Most Common and Most Popular Qualifying Marathons
Boston Marathon Qualifying Races - Most Likely and Largest Qualifiers
Year: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003
Boston Qualifiers in the USA/Canada - 2018
The Boston Marathon is the only mass-participation marathon that requires qualifying times and those times become goal times for many runners. The times are, to some extent, age-graded, with those 35 and over given easier standards.
See: Boston Marathon Qualifying Times
We're often asked what courses are good Boston qualifying courses and where do people qualify for the Boston Marathon. While there is no specific answer for each individual, and while different races may be easier or harder in any given year due to weather or other factors - following is a factual list of those marathons that have the highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in their field and those with the largest overall number of qualifiers.
Note that different years may show different results as weather, course changes and other factors can affect the performance of a race from year to year.
Trying to qualify for Boston in 2024? We have your back! We partnered with Runzy to help. Train 1:1 with an elite running coach for just $39/month. Mention "MarathonGuide" for a special discount. Learn more.
Boston Marathon Qualifying Races - Most Likely To Qualify - 2018
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2018. These courses will undoubtedly be among those ranked the fastest of all courses - but there are other factors that might cause a marathon to appear on this list or to cause a race to fall off this list. For a point-to-point course, a tailwind or headwind might make the difference from one year to the next. Some races (such as Boston itself) simply attracts faster runners, so the fact that a marathon is on this list might be an indication of the type of runner it attracts even more than the quality of its course. But, you can be sure that any marathon on this is not slow.
| Rank | Marathon | Boston Qualifiers |
Qualifying Percent* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Last Chance BQ.2 Grand Rapids Marathon (9/8/18 - Grand Rapids, MI) | 102 | 65.0% |
| 2 | Last Chance BQ.2 Chicagoland Marathon (9/8/18 - Geneva, IL) | 124 | 53.4% |
| 3 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/9/18 - Erie, PA) | 676 | 46.2% |
| 4 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/10/18 - North Bend, WA) | 203 | 41.2% |
| 5 | The Tunnel Lite Marathon (9/16/18 - North Bend, WA) | 193 | 39.2% |
| 6 | Mt Hood Marathon (7/28/18 - Mt Hood, OR) | 220 | 37.8% |
| 7 | Boston Marathon (4/16/18 - Boston, MA) | 9,248 | 36.6% |
| 8 | REVEL Big Bear and Half Marathon (10/14/18 - Big Bear, CA) | 423 | 35.2% |
| 9 | Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (5/27/18 - Ojai, CA) | 634 | 34.4% |
| 10 | California International Marathon (12/2/18 - Sacramento, CA) | 2,472 | 32.8% |
| 11 | Baystate Marathon (10/21/18 - Lowell, MA) | 408 | 32.5% |
| 12 | Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via) (9/9/18 - Allentown, PA) | 224 | 31.6% |
| 13 | REVEL Mt Lemmon Marathon & Half (11/3/18 - Tucson, AZ) | 140 | 31.1% |
| 14 | REVEL Mt Charleston (4/28/18 - Las Vegas, NV) | 393 | 30.8% |
| 15 | Sugarloaf Marathon (5/20/18 - Carrabassett Valley, ME) | 168 | 30.5% |
| 16 | LOCO Marathon (10/28/18 - Newmarket, NH) | 77 | 30.2% |
| 17 | Rockies Marathon (6/3/18 - Denver, CO) | 198 | 29.0% |
| 18 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/26/18 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 255 | 28.1% |
| 19 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/4/18 - Hamilton, ON) | 205 | 28.0% |
| 20 | Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon (5/20/18 - Pocono Mountains, PA) | 145 | 27.6% |
| 21 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Saturday Marathon (7/28/18 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 147 | 27.0% |
| 22 | Peak to Creek Marathon (formerly Ridge to Bridge Marathon) (10/27/18 - Morganton, NC) | 83 | 26.7% |
| 23 | Eugene Marathon (4/29/18 - Eugene, OR) | 378 | 26.2% |
| 24 | Albany Marathon (formerly the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon) (3/3/18 - Albany, GA) | 122 | 26.0% |
| 25 | Pacific Northwest Marathon (9/15/18 - Eugene, OR) | 69 | 25.3% |
| 26 | Phoenix Marathon (2/24/18 - Mesa, AZ) | 543 | 24.8% |
| 27 | Glass City Marathon (4/22/18 - Toledo, OH) | 258 | 24.1% |
| 28 | Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half (9/8/18 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 270 | 24.1% |
| 29 | Fredericton Marathon (5/13/18 - Fredericton, NB) | 67 | 23.5% |
| 30 | Tucson Marathon (12/8/18 - Oracle, AZ) | 100 | 22.8% |
| 31 | Carmel Marathon (3/31/18 - Carmel, IN) | 230 | 22.5% |
| 32 | Jacksonville Marathon (12/15/18 - Jacksonville, FL) | 145 | 22.0% |
| 33 | One City Marathon (3/4/18 - Newport News, VA) | 68 | 21.5% |
| 34 | Victoria Marathon (10/7/18 - Victoria, BC) | 215 | 21.4% |
| 35 | Clarence Demar Marathon (9/30/18 - Keene, NH) | 51 | 21.2% |
| 36 | New England Green River Marathon (8/26/18 - Greenfield, MA) | 55 | 21.2% |
| 37 | Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/6/18 - Providence, RI) | 216 | 20.8% |
| 38 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/3/18 - Indianapolis, IN) | 897 | 20.7% |
| 39 | Charlevoix Marathon (6/23/18 - Charlevoix, MI) | 57 | 20.4% |
| 40 | VENTURA MARATHON (10/21/18 - Ventura, CA) | 134 | 20.2% |
| 41 | Marshall University Marathon (11/4/18 - Huntington, WV) | 61 | 20.1% |
| 42 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/11/18 - Harrisburg, PA) | 128 | 20.1% |
| 43 | Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon (5/12/18 - St. Joseph, MN) | 69 | 20.0% |
| 44 | Okanagan Marathon (10/7/18 - Kelowna, BC) | 61 | 20.0% |
| 45 | North Central Trail Marathon (11/24/18 - Sparks, MD) | 55 | 19.9% |
| 46 | Newport Marathon (6/2/18 - Newport, OR) | 77 | 19.6% |
| 47 | Mississauga Marathon (5/6/18 - Mississauga, ON) | 127 | 19.6% |
| 48 | Grandma's Marathon (6/16/18 - Duluth, MN) | 1,117 | 19.3% |
| 49 | Wineglass Marathon (9/30/18 - Corning, NY) | 308 | 19.3% |
| 50 | St. George Marathon (10/6/18 - St. George, UT) | 721 | 19.0% |
*This list is limited to marathons with 250 or more finishers, or 100 or more qualifiers regardless of size. Percentages calculated ignore finishers over 6:00.
Boston Marathon Qualifying Races - Most Qualifiers 2018
The races that have the most Boston Marathon qualifiers are, obviously, going to be skewed to those that have the most participants. Below is a list of the races that qualified the most people for Boston in 2018.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Marathon (4/16/18 - Boston, MA) | 25,746 | 9,248 |
| 2 | Chicago Marathon (10/7/18 - Chicago, IL) | 44,584 | 5,571 |
| 3 | New York City Marathon (11/4/18 - New York City, NY) | 52,704 | 4,982 |
| 4 | California International Marathon (12/2/18 - Sacramento, CA) | 7,830 | 2,472 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/18/18 - Philadelphia, PA) | 9,509 | 1,313 |
| 6 | Grandma's Marathon (6/16/18 - Duluth, MN) | 6,093 | 1,117 |
| 7 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/3/18 - Indianapolis, IN) | 4,529 | 897 |
| 8 | Twin Cities Marathon (10/7/18 - Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN) | 7,157 | 829 |
| 9 | Houston Marathon (1/14/18 - Houston, TX) | 6,710 | 800 |
| 10 | Marine Corps Marathon (10/28/18 - Washington, DC) | 20,699 | 795 |
| 11 | St. George Marathon (10/6/18 - St. George, UT) | 3,999 | 721 |
| 12 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/9/18 - Erie, PA) | 1,478 | 676 |
| 13 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (3/18/18 - Los Angeles, CA) | 19,571 | 670 |
| 14 | Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (5/27/18 - Ojai, CA) | 1,877 | 634 |
| 15 | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (10/21/18 - Toronto, ON) | 3,529 | 617 |
| 16 | Phoenix Marathon (2/24/18 - Mesa, AZ) | 2,225 | 543 |
| 17 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/27/18 - Ottawa, ON) | 2,737 | 507 |
| 18 | Richmond Marathon (11/10/18 - Richmond, VA) | 3,998 | 488 |
| 19 | REVEL Big Bear and Half Marathon (10/14/18 - Big Bear, CA) | 1,240 | 423 |
| 20 | Columbus Marathon (10/21/18 - Columbus, OH) | 3,213 | 419 |
| 21 | Baystate Marathon (10/21/18 - Lowell, MA) | 1,273 | 408 |
| 22 | REVEL Mt Charleston (4/28/18 - Las Vegas, NV) | 1,306 | 393 |
| 23 | Eugene Marathon (4/29/18 - Eugene, OR) | 1,493 | 378 |
| 24 | New Jersey Marathon (4/29/18 - Long Branch, NJ) | 2,037 | 350 |
| 25 | Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon (5/6/18 - Cincinnati, OH) | 5,828 | 334 |
| 26 | The San Francisco Marathon (7/29/18 - San Francisco, CA) | 5,242 | 324 |
| 27 | Wineglass Marathon (9/30/18 - Corning, NY) | 1,674 | 308 |
| 28 | Lakefront Marathon (10/7/18 - Milwaukee, WI) | 2,137 | 300 |
| 29 | Vancouver International Marathon (5/6/18 - Vancouver, BC) | 3,753 | 281 |
| 30 | Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon (9/23/18 - Montreal, QC) | 2,413 | 277 |
| 31 | Vermont City Marathon (5/27/18 - Burlington, VT) | 1,935 | 270 |
| 32 | Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half (9/8/18 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 1,147 | 270 |
| 33 | Disney World Marathon (1/7/18 - Orlando, FL) | 20,025 | 269 |
| 34 | Glass City Marathon (4/22/18 - Toledo, OH) | 1,087 | 258 |
| 35 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/26/18 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 943 | 255 |
| 36 | Pittsburgh Marathon (5/6/18 - Pittsburgh, PA) | 3,568 | 253 |
| 37 | Hartford Marathon (10/13/18 - Hartford, CT) | 1,558 | 234 |
| 38 | Big Sur International Marathon (4/29/18 - Carmel, CA) | 3,379 | 232 |
| 39 | Carmel Marathon (3/31/18 - Carmel, IN) | 1,070 | 230 |
| 40 | Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via) (9/9/18 - Allentown, PA) | 716 | 224 |
| 41 | Mt Hood Marathon (7/28/18 - Mt Hood, OR) | 602 | 220 |
| 42 | Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/6/18 - Providence, RI) | 1,042 | 216 |
| 43 | Victoria Marathon (10/7/18 - Victoria, BC) | 1,036 | 215 |
| 44 | Napa Valley Marathon (3/4/18 - Napa, CA) | 1,343 | 210 |
| 45 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/4/18 - Hamilton, ON) | 739 | 205 |
| 46 | Cleveland Marathon (5/20/18 - Cleveland, OH) | 1,513 | 204 |
| 47 | Fargo Marathon (5/19/18 - Fargo, ND) | 1,461 | 203 |
| 48 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/10/18 - North Bend, WA) | 504 | 203 |
| 49 | Bayshore Marathon (5/26/18 - Traverse City, MI) | 1,452 | 202 |
| 50 | Rockies Marathon (6/3/18 - Denver, CO) | 684 | 198 |
Trying to qualify for Boston in 2024? We have your back! We partnered with Runzy to help. Train 1:1 with an elite running coach for just $39/month. Mention "MarathonGuide" for a special discount. Learn more.
