Apr 25, 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 - 2009
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 - 2009
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2009. 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 | Boston Marathon (4/20/09 - Boston, MA) | 9,844 | 43.2% |
| 2 | Sugarloaf Marathon (5/17/09 - Carrabassett Valley, ME, ME) | 106 | 42.6% |
| 3 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/11/09 - Albany, NY) | 252 | 34.9% |
| 4 | Bay State Marathon (10/18/09 - Lowell, MA) | 523 | 33.5% |
| 5 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/1/09 - Hamilton, ON) | 272 | 33.5% |
| 6 | Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon (5/17/09 - Pocono Mountains, PA) | 122 | 30.0% |
| 7 | Steamtown Marathon (10/11/09 - Scranton, PA) | 522 | 28.1% |
| 8 | Wineglass Marathon (10/4/09 - Corning, NY) | 209 | 27.0% |
| 9 | California International Marathon (12/6/09 - Sacramento, CA) | 1,541 | 26.7% |
| 10 | Jacksonville Marathon (12/20/09 - Jacksonville, FL) | 184 | 24.9% |
| 11 | Green Mountain Marathon (10/17/09 - South Hero, VT) | 73 | 24.4% |
| 12 | Victoria Marathon (10/11/09 - Victoria, BC) | 584 | 23.4% |
| 13 | St. George Marathon (10/3/09 - St. George, UT) | 1,268 | 23.3% |
| 14 | Grand Rapids Marathon (10/18/09 - Grand Rapids, MI) | 321 | 23.2% |
| 15 | Foot Traffic Flat Marathon (7/4/09 - Portland, OR) | 59 | 23.0% |
| 16 | Rocket City Marathon (12/12/09 - Hunstville, AL) | 287 | 23.0% |
| 17 | Newport Marathon (5/30/09 - Newport, OR) | 155 | 22.8% |
| 18 | B&A Trail Marathon (3/1/09 - Severna Park, MD) | 56 | 22.6% |
| 19 | Eugene Marathon (5/3/09 - Eugene, OR) | 363 | 22.3% |
| 20 | Mississauga Marathon (5/10/09 - Mississauga, ON) | 303 | 22.0% |
| 21 | Marshall University Marathon (11/1/09 - Huntington, WV) | 74 | 21.3% |
| 22 | Towpath Marathon (10/11/09 - Cleveland/Akron Area, OH) | 98 | 20.7% |
| 23 | Columbus Marathon (10/18/09 - Columbus, OH) | 818 | 20.5% |
| 24 | WhistleStop Marathon (10/10/09 - Ashland, WI) | 177 | 20.1% |
| 25 | Space Coast Marathon (11/29/09 - Cocoa, FL) | 123 | 19.6% |
| 26 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/8/09 - Harrisburg, PA) | 166 | 19.3% |
| 27 | Bayshore Marathon (5/23/09 - Traverse City, MI) | 263 | 19.3% |
| 28 | Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives (8/30/09 - Quebec City, QC) | 165 | 19.1% |
| 29 | Lakefront Marathon (10/4/09 - Milwaukee, WI) | 348 | 18.8% |
| 30 | Tucson Marathon (12/13/09 - Oracle, AZ) | 228 | 18.7% |
| 31 | Blue Nose International Marathon (5/17/09 - Halifax, NS) | 49 | 18.4% |
| 32 | Toronto Marathon (10/18/09 - Toronto, ON) | 343 | 18.3% |
| 33 | Des Moines Marathon (10/18/09 - Des Moines, IA) | 235 | 18.1% |
| 34 | Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon (3/7/09 - Albany, GA) | 101 | 18.0% |
| 35 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/22/09 - Philadelphia, PA) | 1,297 | 17.9% |
| 36 | Santa Clarita Marathon (11/8/09 - Santa Clarita, CA) | 59 | 17.8% |
| 37 | Yakima River Canyon Marathon (4/4/09 - Yakima, WA) | 72 | 17.8% |
| 38 | Steamboat Marathon (6/7/09 - Steamboat Springs, CO) | 55 | 17.7% |
| 39 | Delaware Marathon (5/17/09 - Wilmington, DE) | 92 | 17.7% |
| 40 | North Central Trail Marathon (11/28/09 - Sparks, MD) | 78 | 17.6% |
| 41 | Marathon of the Palm Beaches (12/6/09 - West Palm Beach, FL) | 100 | 17.6% |
| 42 | Green Bay Marathon (5/17/09 - Green Bay, WI) | 272 | 17.5% |
| 43 | Edmonton Centennial Marathon (8/16/09 - Edmonton, AB) | 69 | 17.5% |
| 44 | Santa Barbara International Marathon (12/6/09 - Santa Barbara, CA) | 277 | 17.5% |
| 45 | Vermont City Marathon (5/24/09 - Burlington, VT) | 404 | 17.4% |
| 46 | Missoula Marathon (7/12/09 - Missoula, MT) | 97 | 17.4% |
| 47 | Maine Marathon (10/4/09 - Portland, ME) | 152 | 17.2% |
| 48 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/13/09 - Erie, PA) | 81 | 17.1% |
| 49 | Kiawah Island Marathon (12/12/09 - Kiawah Island, SC) | 153 | 16.9% |
| 50 | New Hampshire Marathon (10/3/09 - Bristol, NH) | 47 | 16.9% |
*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 2009
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 2009.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Marathon (4/20/09 - Boston, MA) | 22,849 | 9,844 |
| 2 | New York City Marathon (11/1/09 - New York City, NY) | 43,250 | 5,591 |
| 3 | Chicago Marathon (10/11/09 - Chicago, IL) | 33,475 | 4,268 |
| 4 | California International Marathon (12/6/09 - Sacramento, CA) | 5,844 | 1,541 |
| 5 | Marine Corps Marathon (10/25/09 - Washington, DC) | 20,882 | 1,312 |
| 6 | Twin Cities Marathon (10/4/09 - Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN) | 8,429 | 1,306 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/22/09 - Philadelphia, PA) | 7,475 | 1,297 |
| 8 | St. George Marathon (10/3/09 - St. George, UT) | 5,618 | 1,268 |
| 9 | Portland Marathon (10/4/09 - Portland, OR) | 8,093 | 926 |
| 10 | Columbus Marathon (10/18/09 - Columbus, OH) | 4,076 | 818 |
| 11 | Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon (1/18/09 - Phoenix, Scottsdale & Tempe, AZ) | 6,440 | 803 |
| 12 | Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (5/31/09 - San Diego, CA) | 13,291 | 721 |
| 13 | Las Vegas Marathon (12/6/09 - Las Vegas, NV) | 5,852 | 644 |
| 14 | Honolulu Marathon (12/13/09 - Honololu, HI) | 20,321 | 629 |
| 15 | Houston Marathon (1/18/09 - Houston, TX) | 5,345 | 604 |
| 16 | Disney World Marathon (1/11/09 - Orlando, FL) | 14,927 | 597 |
| 17 | Victoria Marathon (10/11/09 - Victoria, BC) | 2,571 | 584 |
| 18 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/24/09 - Ottawa, ON) | 3,449 | 557 |
| 19 | Richmond Marathon (11/14/09 - Richmond, VA) | 3,785 | 538 |
| 20 | Detroit Free Press International Marathon (10/18/09 - Detroit, MI) | 3,780 | 525 |
| 21 | Bay State Marathon (10/18/09 - Lowell, MA) | 1,561 | 523 |
| 22 | Steamtown Marathon (10/11/09 - Scranton, PA) | 1,889 | 522 |
| 23 | Dallas White Rock Marathon (12/13/09 - Dallas, TX) | 4,453 | 452 |
| 24 | Pittsburgh Marathon (5/3/09 - Pittsburgh, PA) | 3,439 | 422 |
| 25 | Vancouver International Marathon (5/3/09 - Vancouver, BC) | 2,926 | 421 |
| 26 | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (9/27/09 - Toronto, ON) | 2,846 | 417 |
| 27 | Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon (6/27/09 - Seattle, WA) | 5,602 | 416 |
| 28 | Austin Marathon (2/15/09 - Austin, TX) | 4,141 | 411 |
| 29 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (5/25/09 - Los Angeles, CA) | 14,061 | 409 |
| 30 | Vermont City Marathon (5/24/09 - Burlington, VT) | 2,340 | 404 |
| 31 | Grandma's Marathon (6/20/09 - Duluth, MN) | 5,890 | 391 |
| 32 | The San Francisco Marathon (7/26/09 - San Francisco, CA) | 5,036 | 382 |
| 33 | Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon (5/3/09 - Cincinnati, OH) | 4,203 | 372 |
| 34 | Eugene Marathon (5/3/09 - Eugene, OR) | 1,715 | 363 |
| 35 | Lakefront Marathon (10/4/09 - Milwaukee, WI) | 1,884 | 348 |
| 36 | Toronto Marathon (10/18/09 - Toronto, ON) | 1,899 | 343 |
| 37 | Cleveland Marathon (5/17/09 - Cleveland, OH) | 2,078 | 331 |
| 38 | Hartford Marathon (10/10/09 - Hartford, CT) | 2,224 | 330 |
| 39 | Grand Rapids Marathon (10/18/09 - Grand Rapids, MI) | 1,394 | 321 |
| 40 | Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon (3/22/09 - Virginia Beach, VA) | 2,550 | 315 |
| 41 | Mississauga Marathon (5/10/09 - Mississauga, ON) | 1,392 | 303 |
| 42 | Seattle Marathon (11/29/09 - Seattle, WA) | 2,229 | 298 |
| 43 | National Marathon (3/21/09 - Washington, DC) | 2,050 | 291 |
| 44 | Rocket City Marathon (12/12/09 - Hunstville, AL) | 1,256 | 287 |
| 45 | Memphis Marathon (12/5/09 - Memphis, TN) | 2,446 | 286 |
| 46 | Long Beach International City Marathon (10/11/09 - Long Beach, CA) | 3,348 | 283 |
| 47 | Santa Barbara International Marathon (12/6/09 - Santa Barbara, CA) | 1,685 | 277 |
| 48 | Green Bay Marathon (5/17/09 - Green Bay, WI) | 1,587 | 272 |
| 49 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/1/09 - Hamilton, ON) | 815 | 272 |
| 50 | Miami Marathon (1/25/09 - Miami & Miami Beach, FL) | 2,727 | 271 |
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.
