Apr 27, 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 - 2004
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 - 2004
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2004. 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 | 2004 USA Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon (4/3/04 - St. Louis, MO) | 107 | 100.0% |
| 2 | Bay State Marathon (10/17/04 - Lowell, MA) | 171 | 34.4% |
| 3 | Sugarloaf Marathon (5/16/04 - Carrabassett Valley, ME, ME) | 86 | 31.0% |
| 4 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/10/04 - Albany, NY) | 119 | 29.2% |
| 5 | Steamtown Marathon (10/10/04 - Scranton, PA) | 428 | 29.0% |
| 6 | Clarence Demar Marathon (9/26/04 - Keene, NH) | 81 | 28.0% |
| 7 | Tucson Marathon (12/5/04 - Oracle, AZ) | 272 | 27.6% |
| 8 | California International Marathon (12/5/04 - Sacramento, CA) | 724 | 24.9% |
| 9 | Forest City Road Races Marathon (5/9/04 - London, ON) | 75 | 24.7% |
| 10 | Rocket City Marathon (12/11/04 - Hunstville, AL) | 186 | 24.3% |
| 11 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/14/04 - Harrisburg, PA) | 100 | 23.8% |
| 12 | North Central Trail Marathon (11/27/04 - Sparks, MD) | 70 | 23.6% |
| 13 | Wineglass Marathon (10/3/04 - Corning, NY) | 126 | 23.3% |
| 14 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/12/04 - Erie, PA) | 76 | 23.3% |
| 15 | Grand Rapids Marathon (10/31/04 - Grand Rapids, MI) | 107 | 23.0% |
| 16 | Newport Marathon (6/5/04 - Newport, OR) | 129 | 22.8% |
| 17 | Coeur d' Alene Marathon (5/30/04 - Coeur d'Alene, ID) | 58 | 22.3% |
| 18 | Niagara Falls International Marathon (10/24/04 - Niagara Falls, ON) | 191 | 22.2% |
| 19 | City of Trees Marathon (11/7/04 - Boise, ID) | 63 | 21.5% |
| 20 | WhistleStop Marathon (10/9/04 - Ashland, WI) | 93 | 21.3% |
| 21 | Capital City Marathon (5/16/04 - Olympia, WA) | 98 | 21.3% |
| 22 | Mississauga Marathon (5/16/04 - Mississauga, ON) | 240 | 20.9% |
| 23 | Tybee Marathon (2/7/04 - Tybee Island, GA) | 52 | 20.8% |
| 24 | Jacksonville Marathon (12/19/04 - Jacksonville, FL) | 173 | 20.7% |
| 25 | Maine Marathon (10/3/04 - Portland, ME) | 155 | 20.5% |
| 26 | Bayshore Marathon (5/29/04 - Traverse City, MI) | 200 | 20.3% |
| 27 | Hartford Marathon (10/9/04 - Hartford, CT) | 253 | 20.2% |
| 28 | B&A Trail Marathon (3/7/04 - Severna Park, MD) | 49 | 20.2% |
| 29 | Mystic Places Marathon (10/24/04 - East Lyme/Niantic, CT) | 134 | 20.0% |
| 30 | St. George Marathon (10/2/04 - St. George, UT) | 881 | 19.9% |
| 31 | Columbus Marathon (10/17/04 - Columbus, OH) | 803 | 19.7% |
| 32 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/21/04 - Philadelphia, PA) | 1,197 | 19.3% |
| 33 | Okanagan Marathon (10/10/04 - Kelowna, BC) | 116 | 18.5% |
| 34 | Buffalo Marathon (5/30/04 - Buffalo, NY) | 133 | 18.4% |
| 35 | Richmond Marathon (11/13/04 - Richmond, VA) | 578 | 18.3% |
| 36 | Louisville Marathon (10/17/04 - Louisville, KY) | 48 | 18.0% |
| 37 | More Marathon (3/21/04 - New York, NY) | 58 | 17.9% |
| 38 | Kiawah Island Marathon (12/11/04 - Kiawah Island, SC) | 177 | 17.8% |
| 39 | Oklahoma Marathon (11/20/04 - Tulsa, OK) | 47 | 17.5% |
| 40 | Towpath Marathon (10/10/04 - Cleveland/Akron Area, OH) | 71 | 17.5% |
| 41 | Toronto Marathon (10/17/04 - Toronto, ON) | 332 | 17.1% |
| 42 | Sunburst Marathon (6/5/04 - South Bend, IN) | 69 | 16.7% |
| 43 | Marshall University Marathon (11/14/04 - Huntington, WV) | 48 | 16.7% |
| 44 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/30/04 - Ottawa, ON) | 570 | 16.5% |
| 45 | Vermont City Marathon (5/30/04 - Burlington, VT) | 368 | 16.4% |
| 46 | Gasparilla Distance Classic (1/25/04 - Tampa, FL) | 162 | 16.3% |
| 47 | Des Moines Marathon (10/17/04 - Des Moines, IA) | 189 | 16.3% |
| 48 | Victoria Marathon (10/10/04 - Victoria, BC) | 353 | 16.3% |
| 49 | Wichita Marathon (10/17/04 - Wichita, KS) | 60 | 16.3% |
| 50 | Blue Angel Marathon (2/28/04 - Pensacola, FL) | 90 | 16.3% |
*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 2004
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 2004.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Marathon (10/10/04 - Chicago, IL) | 33,033 | 3,552 |
| 2 | New York City Marathon (11/7/04 - New York City, NY) | 36,513 | 2,544 |
| 3 | Boston Marathon (4/19/04 - Boston, MA) | 16,743 | 2,097 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/21/04 - Philadelphia, PA) | 6,193 | 1,197 |
| 5 | St. George Marathon (10/2/04 - St. George, UT) | 4,587 | 881 |
| 6 | Columbus Marathon (10/17/04 - Columbus, OH) | 4,310 | 803 |
| 7 | Honolulu Marathon (12/12/04 - Honololu, HI) | 22,314 | 745 |
| 8 | Austin Marathon (2/15/04 - Austin, TX) | 5,238 | 732 |
| 9 | California International Marathon (12/5/04 - Sacramento, CA) | 2,963 | 724 |
| 10 | Twin Cities Marathon (10/3/04 - Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN) | 7,304 | 719 |
| 11 | Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (6/6/04 - San Diego, CA) | 16,369 | 678 |
| 12 | Houston Marathon (1/18/04 - Houston, TX) | 5,383 | 626 |
| 13 | Portland Marathon (10/3/04 - Portland, OR) | 5,838 | 601 |
| 14 | Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon (1/11/04 - Phoenix, Scottsdale & Tempe, AZ) | 9,482 | 595 |
| 15 | Richmond Marathon (11/13/04 - Richmond, VA) | 3,211 | 578 |
| 16 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/30/04 - Ottawa, ON) | 3,585 | 570 |
| 17 | Marine Corps Marathon (10/31/04 - Washington, DC) | 16,379 | 538 |
| 18 | Detroit Free Press International Marathon (10/24/04 - Detroit, MI) | 3,514 | 514 |
| 19 | Grandma's Marathon (6/19/04 - Duluth, MN) | 6,750 | 507 |
| 20 | Vancouver International Marathon (5/2/04 - Vancouver, BC) | 4,399 | 467 |
| 21 | Disney World Marathon (1/11/04 - Orlando, FL) | 9,371 | 453 |
| 22 | Steamtown Marathon (10/10/04 - Scranton, PA) | 1,489 | 428 |
| 23 | Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon (5/2/04 - Cincinnati, OH) | 4,348 | 386 |
| 24 | Vermont City Marathon (5/30/04 - Burlington, VT) | 2,268 | 368 |
| 25 | Victoria Marathon (10/10/04 - Victoria, BC) | 2,228 | 353 |
| 26 | Dallas White Rock Marathon (12/12/04 - Dallas, TX) | 3,171 | 341 |
| 27 | Toronto Marathon (10/17/04 - Toronto, ON) | 1,957 | 332 |
| 28 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (3/7/04 - Los Angeles, CA) | 17,306 | 311 |
| 29 | Baltimore Marathon (10/16/04 - Baltimore, MD) | 2,352 | 303 |
| 30 | Seattle Marathon (11/28/04 - Seattle, WA) | 2,262 | 281 |
| 31 | Tucson Marathon (12/5/04 - Oracle, AZ) | 1,006 | 272 |
| 32 | Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon (3/20/04 - Virginia Beach, VA) | 1,907 | 258 |
| 33 | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (9/26/04 - Toronto, ON) | 1,690 | 257 |
| 34 | Hartford Marathon (10/9/04 - Hartford, CT) | 1,275 | 253 |
| 35 | Las Vegas International Marathon (1/25/04 - Las Vegas, NV) | 1,766 | 251 |
| 36 | Mississauga Marathon (5/16/04 - Mississauga, ON) | 1,209 | 240 |
| 37 | Napa Valley Marathon (3/7/04 - Napa, CA) | 1,556 | 227 |
| 38 | Big Sur International Marathon (4/25/04 - Carmel, CA) | 2,858 | 226 |
| 39 | Cleveland Marathon (4/25/04 - Cleveland, OH) | 1,485 | 225 |
| 40 | Country Music Marathon (4/24/04 - Nashville, TN) | 4,033 | 202 |
| 41 | Bayshore Marathon (5/29/04 - Traverse City, MI) | 995 | 200 |
| 42 | Niagara Falls International Marathon (10/24/04 - Niagara Falls, ON) | 873 | 191 |
| 43 | Des Moines Marathon (10/17/04 - Des Moines, IA) | 1,224 | 189 |
| 44 | The San Francisco Marathon (8/1/04 - San Francisco, CA) | 2,665 | 188 |
| 45 | Rocket City Marathon (12/11/04 - Hunstville, AL) | 766 | 186 |
| 46 | New Jersey Marathon (4/25/04 - Long Branch, NJ) | 1,476 | 183 |
| 47 | Memphis Marathon (12/4/04 - Memphis, TN) | 1,275 | 181 |
| 48 | OC Marathon (12/5/04 - Newport Beach, CA) | 1,619 | 180 |
| 49 | Miami Marathon (2/1/04 - Miami & Miami Beach, FL) | 1,781 | 177 |
| 50 | Salt Lake City Marathon (4/24/04 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 2,622 | 177 |
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.
