Apr 18, 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 - 2012
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 - 2012
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2012. 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 | 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon (1/14/12 - Houston, TX) | 152 | 100.0% |
| 2 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/26/12 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 168 | 31.6% |
| 3 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/4/12 - Hamilton, ON) | 335 | 31.1% |
| 4 | Baystate Marathon (10/21/12 - Lowell, MA) | 267 | 23.5% |
| 5 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/16/12 - Erie, PA) | 151 | 22.8% |
| 6 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (7/15/12 - North Bend, WA) | 75 | 22.4% |
| 7 | Buffalo Marathon (5/27/12 - Buffalo, NY) | 234 | 22.3% |
| 8 | Tucson Marathon (12/9/12 - Oracle, AZ) | 227 | 22.2% |
| 9 | Peak to Creek Marathon (formerly Ridge to Bridge Marathon) (10/27/12 - Morganton, NC) | 71 | 22.0% |
| 10 | Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon (6/3/12 - Ojai, CA) | 169 | 21.2% |
| 11 | Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via) (9/9/12 - Allentown, PA) | 112 | 20.7% |
| 12 | Sioux Falls Marathon (9/9/12 - Sioux Falls, SD) | 53 | 20.5% |
| 13 | Veterans Marathon (11/10/12 - Columbia City, IN) | 54 | 20.2% |
| 14 | Steamtown Marathon (10/7/12 - Scranton, PA) | 368 | 19.3% |
| 15 | WhistleStop Marathon (10/13/12 - Ashland, WI) | 80 | 18.3% |
| 16 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/7/12 - Albany, NY) | 167 | 18.2% |
| 17 | Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/6/12 - Providence, RI) | 243 | 18.2% |
| 18 | Eugene Marathon (4/29/12 - Eugene, OR) | 413 | 18.1% |
| 19 | Jacksonville Marathon (12/16/12 - Jacksonville, FL) | 182 | 17.9% |
| 20 | Wineglass Marathon (9/30/12 - Corning, NY) | 277 | 17.8% |
| 21 | St. George Marathon (10/6/12 - St. George, UT) | 950 | 17.4% |
| 22 | Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon (5/12/12 - St. Joseph, MN) | 50 | 17.3% |
| 23 | B&A Trail Marathon (3/4/12 - Severna Park, MD) | 55 | 17.1% |
| 24 | Delaware & Lehigh Heritage Marathon (11/4/12 - Northampton, PA) | 45 | 17.0% |
| 25 | Towpath Marathon (10/7/12 - Cleveland/Akron Area, OH) | 69 | 16.9% |
| 26 | Glass City Marathon (4/22/12 - Toledo, OH) | 131 | 16.8% |
| 27 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/11/12 - Harrisburg, PA) | 256 | 16.7% |
| 28 | Tallahassee Marathon (2/5/12 - Tallahassee, FL) | 44 | 16.6% |
| 29 | Manchester City Marathon (11/4/12 - Manchester, NH) | 114 | 16.5% |
| 30 | Cape Cod Marathon (10/28/12 - Falmouth, MA) | 166 | 16.5% |
| 31 | Martian Marathon (4/14/12 - Dearborn, MI) | 69 | 16.4% |
| 32 | Rails to Trails Marathon (11/4/12 - Norwalk, WI) | 52 | 16.0% |
| 33 | California International Marathon (12/2/12 - Sacramento, CA) | 942 | 15.9% |
| 34 | Marshall University Marathon (11/11/12 - Huntington, WV) | 92 | 15.9% |
| 35 | Sugarloaf Marathon (5/20/12 - Carrabassett Valley, ME) | 89 | 15.8% |
| 36 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/3/12 - Indianapolis, IN) | 433 | 15.6% |
| 37 | Carmel Marathon (4/21/12 - Carmel, IN) | 86 | 15.6% |
| 38 | Sunburst Marathon (6/2/12 - South Bend, IN) | 68 | 15.2% |
| 39 | Lakefront Marathon (10/7/12 - Milwaukee, WI) | 315 | 15.2% |
| 40 | Newport Marathon (6/2/12 - Newport, OR) | 109 | 15.2% |
| 41 | Mississauga Marathon (5/6/12 - Mississauga, ON) | 123 | 15.1% |
| 42 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/18/12 - Philadelphia, PA) | 1,714 | 15.1% |
| 43 | Charlottesville Marathon (4/7/12 - Charlottesville, VA) | 71 | 15.0% |
| 44 | Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon (5/20/12 - Pocono Mountains, PA) | 145 | 14.9% |
| 45 | Capital City Marathon (5/20/12 - Olympia, WA) | 43 | 14.9% |
| 46 | Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half (9/22/12 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 40 | 14.9% |
| 47 | Okanagan Marathon (10/7/12 - Kelowna, BC) | 55 | 14.8% |
| 48 | Kiawah Island Marathon (12/8/12 - Kiawah Island, SC) | 151 | 14.8% |
| 49 | Colorado Marathon (prev. Fort Collins Old Town Marathon) (5/6/12 - Fort Collins, CO) | 141 | 14.6% |
| 50 | Foot Traffic Flat Marathon (7/4/12 - Portland, OR) | 56 | 14.5% |
*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 2012
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 2012.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Marathon (10/7/12 - Chicago, IL) | 37,455 | 3,390 |
| 2 | Boston Marathon (4/16/12 - Boston, MA) | 21,554 | 2,387 |
| 3 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/18/12 - Philadelphia, PA) | 11,641 | 1,714 |
| 4 | Twin Cities Marathon (10/7/12 - Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN) | 8,781 | 1,016 |
| 5 | Houston Marathon (1/15/12 - Houston, TX) | 7,637 | 997 |
| 6 | St. George Marathon (10/6/12 - St. George, UT) | 5,696 | 950 |
| 7 | California International Marathon (12/2/12 - Sacramento, CA) | 6,186 | 942 |
| 8 | Marine Corps Marathon (10/28/12 - Washington, DC) | 23,519 | 889 |
| 9 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (3/18/12 - Los Angeles, CA) | 18,729 | 667 |
| 10 | Grandma's Marathon (6/16/12 - Duluth, MN) | 5,785 | 634 |
| 11 | Columbus Marathon (10/21/12 - Columbus, OH) | 5,470 | 630 |
| 12 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/27/12 - Ottawa, ON) | 4,178 | 592 |
| 13 | Richmond Marathon (11/10/12 - Richmond, VA) | 4,716 | 540 |
| 14 | Portland Marathon (10/7/12 - Portland, OR) | 6,518 | 489 |
| 15 | Disney World Marathon (1/8/12 - Orlando, FL) | 13,467 | 483 |
| 16 | Vancouver International Marathon (5/6/12 - Vancouver, BC) | 4,232 | 445 |
| 17 | Honolulu Marathon (12/9/12 - Honololu, HI) | 22,109 | 439 |
| 18 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/3/12 - Indianapolis, IN) | 2,865 | 433 |
| 19 | Eugene Marathon (4/29/12 - Eugene, OR) | 2,345 | 413 |
| 20 | The San Francisco Marathon (7/29/12 - San Francisco, CA) | 6,440 | 377 |
| 21 | Steamtown Marathon (10/7/12 - Scranton, PA) | 1,930 | 368 |
| 22 | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (10/14/12 - Toronto, ON) | 3,242 | 366 |
| 23 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/4/12 - Hamilton, ON) | 1,081 | 335 |
| 24 | Hartford Marathon (10/13/12 - Hartford, CT) | 2,528 | 322 |
| 25 | Lakefront Marathon (10/7/12 - Milwaukee, WI) | 2,112 | 315 |
| 26 | Detroit International Marathon (10/21/12 - Detroit, MI) | 3,708 | 300 |
| 27 | Vermont City Marathon (5/27/12 - Burlington, VT) | 2,420 | 295 |
| 28 | Austin Marathon (2/19/12 - Austin, TX) | 3,898 | 285 |
| 29 | Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon (1/15/12 - Phoenix, Scottsdale & Tempe, AZ) | 3,863 | 284 |
| 30 | Wineglass Marathon (9/30/12 - Corning, NY) | 1,584 | 277 |
| 31 | Baystate Marathon (10/21/12 - Lowell, MA) | 1,146 | 267 |
| 32 | Miami Marathon (1/29/12 - Miami & Miami Beach, FL) | 3,906 | 260 |
| 33 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/11/12 - Harrisburg, PA) | 1,584 | 256 |
| 34 | Pittsburgh Marathon (5/6/12 - Pittsburgh, PA) | 4,608 | 251 |
| 35 | Napa Valley Marathon (3/4/12 - Napa, CA) | 1,793 | 248 |
| 36 | Toronto Marathon (5/6/12 - Toronto, ON) | 1,745 | 247 |
| 37 | Bayshore Marathon (5/26/12 - Traverse City, MI) | 1,793 | 246 |
| 38 | Seattle Marathon (11/25/12 - Seattle, WA) | 2,239 | 246 |
| 39 | Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/6/12 - Providence, RI) | 1,354 | 243 |
| 40 | Ogden Marathon (5/19/12 - Ogden, UT) | 2,385 | 243 |
| 41 | Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon (3/18/12 - Virginia Beach, VA) | 3,301 | 238 |
| 42 | New Jersey Marathon (5/6/12 - Oceanport, NJ) | 2,304 | 234 |
| 43 | Buffalo Marathon (5/27/12 - Buffalo, NY) | 1,049 | 234 |
| 44 | Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) (2/5/12 - Huntington Beach, CA) | 2,447 | 232 |
| 45 | Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon (5/6/12 - Cincinnati, OH) | 4,084 | 229 |
| 46 | Victoria Marathon (10/7/12 - Victoria, BC) | 1,729 | 228 |
| 47 | Baltimore Marathon (10/13/12 - Baltimore, MD) | 3,020 | 227 |
| 48 | Tucson Marathon (12/9/12 - Oracle, AZ) | 1,051 | 227 |
| 49 | Myrtle Beach Marathon (2/18/12 - Myrtle Beach, SC) | 1,798 | 226 |
| 50 | Grand Rapids Marathon (10/21/12 - Grand Rapids, MI) | 1,581 | 218 |
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.
