Apr 19, 2024
Boston Marathon Qualifiers - Most Common and Most Popular Qualifying Marathons
Boston Marathon Qualifying Races - Most Likely and Largest Qualifiers
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Boston Qualifiers in the USA/Canada - 2019
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 - 2019
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2019. 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 (9/7/19 - Grand Rapids, MI) | 114 | 58.5% |
| 2 | Last Chance BQ.2 Chicagoland Marathon (9/14/19 - Geneva, IL) | 122 | 51.3% |
| 3 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/9/19 - North Bend, WA) | 207 | 36.9% |
| 4 | Mt Hood Marathon (6/29/19 - Mt Hood, OR) | 278 | 34.9% |
| 5 | Boston Marathon (4/15/19 - Boston, MA) | 8,878 | 33.6% |
| 6 | Tunnel Vision Marathon (8/18/19 - North Bend, WA) | 177 | 32.5% |
| 7 | REVEL Big Bear and Half Marathon (11/9/19 - Big Bear, CA) | 388 | 32.2% |
| 8 | Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (5/26/19 - Ojai, CA) | 542 | 31.5% |
| 9 | The Tunnel Lite Marathon (9/15/19 - North Bend, WA) | 182 | 31.4% |
| 10 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Marathon (7/28/19 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 212 | 30.6% |
| 11 | California International Marathon (12/8/19 - Sacramento, CA) | 2,183 | 30.3% |
| 12 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/8/19 - Erie, PA) | 363 | 28.2% |
| 13 | Eugene Marathon (4/28/19 - Eugene, OR) | 358 | 27.2% |
| 14 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Saturday Marathon (7/27/19 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 178 | 26.8% |
| 15 | Sugarloaf Marathon (5/19/19 - Carrabassett Valley, ME) | 211 | 25.9% |
| 16 | Baystate Marathon (10/20/19 - Lowell, MA) | 274 | 25.1% |
| 17 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/3/19 - Hamilton, ON) | 156 | 24.1% |
| 18 | Peak to Creek Marathon (formerly Ridge to Bridge Marathon) (10/26/19 - Morganton, NC) | 65 | 22.9% |
| 19 | Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via) (9/8/19 - Allentown, PA) | 146 | 22.7% |
| 20 | New England Green River Marathon (9/1/19 - Greenfield, MA) | 59 | 22.3% |
| 21 | REVEL Mt Charleston (4/27/19 - Las Vegas, NV) | 401 | 21.8% |
| 22 | Phoenix Marathon (2/9/19 - Mesa, AZ) | 456 | 21.0% |
| 23 | Glass City Marathon (4/28/19 - Toledo, OH) | 258 | 20.7% |
| 24 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/25/19 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 176 | 20.4% |
| 25 | Buffalo Marathon (5/26/19 - Buffalo, NY) | 204 | 20.1% |
| 26 | Big Cottonwood Marathon (9/14/19 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 205 | 19.7% |
| 27 | Rockies Marathon (6/2/19 - Denver, CO) | 117 | 19.3% |
| 28 | Kulia Marathon (3/9/19 - Waikoloa, HI) | 55 | 19.1% |
| 29 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/9/19 - Indianapolis, IN) | 903 | 19.0% |
| 30 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/13/19 - Albany, NY) | 131 | 19.0% |
| 31 | Newport Marathon (6/1/19 - Newport, OR) | 67 | 18.3% |
| 32 | REVEL Mt Lemmon Marathon & Half (11/2/19 - Tucson, AZ) | 72 | 18.0% |
| 33 | North Central Trail Marathon (11/30/19 - Sparks, MD) | 57 | 18.0% |
| 34 | Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/5/19 - Providence, RI) | 189 | 17.8% |
| 35 | Grandma's Marathon (6/22/19 - Duluth, MN) | 1,072 | 17.8% |
| 36 | Okanagan Marathon (10/20/19 - Kelowna, BC) | 49 | 17.8% |
| 37 | Steamtown Marathon (10/13/19 - Scranton, PA) | 171 | 17.6% |
| 38 | Tobacco Road Marathon (3/17/19 - Cary, NC) | 133 | 17.2% |
| 39 | Charlevoix Marathon (6/22/19 - Charlevoix, MI) | 59 | 16.9% |
| 40 | St. George Marathon (10/5/19 - St. George, UT) | 622 | 16.8% |
| 41 | One City Marathon (3/3/19 - Newport News, VA) | 58 | 16.7% |
| 42 | Cape Cod Marathon (10/27/19 - Falmouth, MA) | 142 | 16.0% |
| 43 | Albany Marathon (formerly the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon) (3/2/19 - Albany, GA) | 74 | 15.8% |
| 44 | Wineglass Marathon (10/6/19 - Corning, NY) | 233 | 15.1% |
| 45 | Wilmington Marathon (3/9/19 - Wilmington, NC) | 75 | 15.1% |
| 46 | Carmel Marathon (3/30/19 - Carmel, IN) | 123 | 15.1% |
| 47 | Holland Haven Marathon (9/8/19 - Holland, MI) | 43 | 15.0% |
| 48 | Rehoboth Seashore Marathon (12/7/19 - Rehoboth, DE) | 121 | 15.0% |
| 49 | Clarence Demar Marathon (9/29/19 - Keene, NH) | 49 | 14.7% |
| 50 | Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon (5/11/19 - St. Joseph, MN) | 43 | 14.6% |
*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 2019
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 2019.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Marathon (4/15/19 - Boston, MA) | 26,632 | 8,878 |
| 2 | Chicago Marathon (10/13/19 - Chicago, IL) | 45,956 | 5,785 |
| 3 | New York City Marathon (11/3/19 - New York City, NY) | 53,508 | 4,938 |
| 4 | California International Marathon (12/8/19 - Sacramento, CA) | 7,504 | 2,183 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/24/19 - Philadelphia, PA) | 10,041 | 1,149 |
| 6 | Grandma's Marathon (6/22/19 - Duluth, MN) | 6,356 | 1,072 |
| 7 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/9/19 - Indianapolis, IN) | 4,957 | 903 |
| 8 | Houston Marathon (1/20/19 - Houston, TX) | 6,657 | 829 |
| 9 | St. George Marathon (10/5/19 - St. George, UT) | 3,966 | 622 |
| 10 | Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (5/26/19 - Ojai, CA) | 1,723 | 542 |
| 11 | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (10/20/19 - Toronto, ON) | 3,833 | 540 |
| 12 | Twin Cities Marathon (10/6/19 - Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN) | 6,739 | 534 |
| 13 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (3/24/19 - Los Angeles, CA) | 20,040 | 465 |
| 14 | Richmond Marathon (11/16/19 - Richmond, VA) | 4,339 | 461 |
| 15 | Phoenix Marathon (2/9/19 - Mesa, AZ) | 2,208 | 456 |
| 16 | REVEL Mt Charleston (4/27/19 - Las Vegas, NV) | 1,879 | 401 |
| 17 | REVEL Big Bear and Half Marathon (11/9/19 - Big Bear, CA) | 1,244 | 388 |
| 18 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/8/19 - Erie, PA) | 1,297 | 363 |
| 19 | Eugene Marathon (4/28/19 - Eugene, OR) | 1,314 | 358 |
| 20 | Marine Corps Marathon (10/27/19 - Washington, DC) | 18,512 | 327 |
| 21 | Vancouver International Marathon (5/5/19 - Vancouver, BC) | 4,235 | 326 |
| 22 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/26/19 - Ottawa, ON) | 2,777 | 324 |
| 23 | New Jersey Marathon (4/28/19 - Long Branch, NJ) | 2,311 | 321 |
| 24 | Columbus Marathon (10/20/19 - Columbus, OH) | 3,594 | 316 |
| 25 | Mt Hood Marathon (6/29/19 - Mt Hood, OR) | 807 | 278 |
| 26 | Baystate Marathon (10/20/19 - Lowell, MA) | 1,111 | 274 |
| 27 | Glass City Marathon (4/28/19 - Toledo, OH) | 1,268 | 258 |
| 28 | Lakefront Marathon (10/6/19 - Milwaukee, WI) | 2,059 | 247 |
| 29 | Wineglass Marathon (10/6/19 - Corning, NY) | 1,598 | 233 |
| 30 | Vermont City Marathon (5/26/19 - Burlington, VT) | 1,813 | 216 |
| 31 | Big Sur International Marathon (4/28/19 - Carmel, CA) | 3,483 | 212 |
| 32 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Marathon (7/28/19 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 714 | 212 |
| 33 | Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon (5/5/19 - Cincinnati, OH) | 3,874 | 211 |
| 34 | Sugarloaf Marathon (5/19/19 - Carrabassett Valley, ME) | 824 | 211 |
| 35 | Honolulu Marathon (12/8/19 - Honololu, HI) | 18,787 | 210 |
| 36 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/9/19 - North Bend, WA) | 582 | 207 |
| 37 | Hartford Marathon (10/12/19 - Hartford, CT) | 1,491 | 206 |
| 38 | Big Cottonwood Marathon (9/14/19 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 1,074 | 205 |
| 39 | Pittsburgh Marathon (5/5/19 - Pittsburgh, PA) | 3,418 | 204 |
| 40 | Buffalo Marathon (5/26/19 - Buffalo, NY) | 1,026 | 204 |
| 41 | Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/5/19 - Providence, RI) | 1,086 | 189 |
| 42 | Toronto Marathon (5/5/19 - Toronto, ON) | 1,484 | 186 |
| 43 | The San Francisco Marathon (7/28/19 - San Francisco, CA) | 5,090 | 183 |
| 44 | The Tunnel Lite Marathon (9/15/19 - North Bend, WA) | 600 | 182 |
| 45 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Saturday Marathon (7/27/19 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 693 | 178 |
| 46 | Tunnel Vision Marathon (8/18/19 - North Bend, WA) | 563 | 177 |
| 47 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/25/19 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 910 | 176 |
| 48 | Steamtown Marathon (10/13/19 - Scranton, PA) | 1,000 | 171 |
| 49 | Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon (3/17/19 - Virginia Beach, VA) | 1,672 | 170 |
| 50 | Disney World Marathon (1/13/19 - Orlando, FL) | 11,480 | 169 |
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.
