Apr 24, 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 - 2021
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 - 2021
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2021. 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 | Spring Chance BQ.2 Marathon (4/17/21 - Geneva, IL) | 89 | 61.4% |
| 2 | Georgina Marathon (10/17/21 - Georgina, ON) | 120 | 41.8% |
| 3 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/13/21 - North Bend, WA) | 213 | 40.5% |
| 4 | REVEL Big Bear and Half Marathon (11/13/21 - Big Bear, CA) | 478 | 38.9% |
| 5 | Muskoka Marathon (10/3/21 - Bracebridge, ON) | 116 | 38.7% |
| 6 | The Cheap! Marathon (4/11/21 - Salisbury, MA) | 107 | 38.1% |
| 7 | California International Marathon (12/5/21 - Sacramento, CA) | 2,563 | 34.6% |
| 8 | Two Rivers Marathon Race Festival (3/27/21 - Lackawaxen, PA) | 69 | 32.7% |
| 9 | Glass City Marathon (4/25/21 - Toledo, OH) | 342 | 31.8% |
| 10 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Marathon (7/25/21 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 120 | 29.4% |
| 11 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Saturday Marathon (7/24/21 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 179 | 29.3% |
| 12 | Baystate Marathon (10/17/21 - Lowell, MA) | 199 | 29.1% |
| 13 | Carmel Marathon (4/3/21 - Carmel, IN) | 301 | 29.0% |
| 14 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/6/21 - Indianapolis, IN) | 1,082 | 28.0% |
| 15 | Charles River Marathon (10/31/21 - Boston, MA) | 72 | 27.3% |
| 16 | The Woodlands Marathon (3/6/21 - The Woodlands, TX) | 227 | 25.2% |
| 17 | Salisbury Marathon (4/3/21 - Salisbury, MD) | 76 | 24.5% |
| 18 | York Marathon and Half Marathon (5/16/21 - YORK, PA) | 89 | 24.2% |
| 19 | The Tunnel Lite Marathon (9/12/21 - North Bend, WA) | 71 | 23.7% |
| 20 | Tunnel Vision Marathon (8/15/21 - North Bend, WA) | 70 | 23.3% |
| 21 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/12/21 - Erie, PA) | 107 | 23.2% |
| 22 | Big Cottonwood Marathon (9/11/21 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 169 | 22.8% |
| 23 | Wilmington Marathon (4/17/21 - Wilmington, NC) | 72 | 22.6% |
| 24 | LOCO Marathon (10/24/21 - Newmarket, NH) | 56 | 21.5% |
| 25 | Clarence Demar Marathon (9/26/21 - Keene, NH) | 53 | 21.2% |
| 26 | Marathon P'tit Train du Nord (10/3/21 - Saint-Jerome, QC) | 310 | 21.1% |
| 27 | New England Green River Marathon (8/29/21 - Greenfield, MA) | 57 | 21.1% |
| 28 | Boston Marathon (10/11/21 - Boston, MA) | 2,987 | 19.8% |
| 29 | Marathon de Granby (10/17/21 - Montreal, QC) | 65 | 19.7% |
| 30 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/14/21 - Harrisburg, PA) | 107 | 19.6% |
| 31 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/10/21 - Albany, NY) | 102 | 18.9% |
| 32 | Grandma's Marathon (6/19/21 - Duluth, MN) | 481 | 18.4% |
| 33 | Wineglass Marathon (10/3/21 - Corning, NY) | 246 | 18.3% |
| 34 | Jacksonville Marathon (12/12/21 - Jacksonville, FL) | 52 | 18.2% |
| 35 | Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon (12/12/21 - Biloxi, MS) | 81 | 17.8% |
| 36 | Rhode Races Newport Marathon (5/22/21 - Newport, RI) | 58 | 17.3% |
| 37 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/29/21 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 93 | 17.3% |
| 38 | Charlevoix Marathon (6/19/21 - Charlevoix, MI) | 109 | 16.8% |
| 39 | Louisiana Marathon (3/7/21 - Baton Rouge, LA) | 99 | 16.7% |
| 40 | Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/2/21 - Providence, RI) | 92 | 16.1% |
| 41 | Two Cities Marathon (11/7/21 - Fresno, CA) | 52 | 15.9% |
| 42 | Bass Pro Shops Marathon (11/7/21 - Springfield, MO) | 39 | 15.7% |
| 43 | Tobacco Road Marathon (5/16/21 - Cary, NC) | 82 | 15.7% |
| 44 | Rehoboth Seashore Marathon (12/4/21 - Rehoboth, DE) | 110 | 15.6% |
| 45 | St. George Marathon (10/2/21 - St. George, UT) | 473 | 15.5% |
| 46 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/21/21 - Philadelphia, PA) | 1,065 | 15.4% |
| 47 | Utah Valley Marathon (6/5/21 - Provo, UT) | 193 | 15.0% |
| 48 | Calgary Marathon (9/19/21 - Calgary, AB) | 96 | 14.9% |
| 49 | Myrtle Beach Marathon (5/1/21 - Myrtle Beach, SC) | 132 | 14.5% |
| 50 | Gettysburg North-South Marathon (4/25/21 - Gettysburg, PA) | 40 | 14.5% |
*This list is limited to marathons with 250 or more finishers, or 65 or more qualifiers regardless of size. Percentages calculated ignore finishers over 6:00.
Boston Marathon Qualifying Races - Most Qualifiers 2021
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 2021.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Marathon (10/11/21 - Boston, MA) | 15,374 | 2,987 |
| 2 | California International Marathon (12/5/21 - Sacramento, CA) | 7,616 | 2,563 |
| 3 | New York City Marathon (11/7/21 - New York City, NY) | 24,939 | 1,924 |
| 4 | Chicago Marathon (10/10/21 - Chicago, IL) | 26,112 | 1,868 |
| 5 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/6/21 - Indianapolis, IN) | 3,956 | 1,082 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/21/21 - Philadelphia, PA) | 7,145 | 1,065 |
| 7 | Grandma's Marathon (6/19/21 - Duluth, MN) | 2,773 | 481 |
| 8 | REVEL Big Bear and Half Marathon (11/13/21 - Big Bear, CA) | 1,269 | 478 |
| 9 | St. George Marathon (10/2/21 - St. George, UT) | 3,212 | 473 |
| 10 | Richmond Marathon (11/13/21 - Richmond, VA) | 3,521 | 402 |
| 11 | Glass City Marathon (4/25/21 - Toledo, OH) | 1,082 | 342 |
| 12 | Marathon P'tit Train du Nord (10/3/21 - Saint-Jerome, QC) | 1,466 | 310 |
| 13 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (11/7/21 - Los Angeles, CA) | 8,643 | 308 |
| 14 | Carmel Marathon (4/3/21 - Carmel, IN) | 1,063 | 301 |
| 15 | Twin Cities Marathon (10/3/21 - Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN) | 3,203 | 265 |
| 16 | Wineglass Marathon (10/3/21 - Corning, NY) | 1,389 | 246 |
| 17 | Columbus Marathon (10/17/21 - Columbus, OH) | 1,738 | 236 |
| 18 | The Woodlands Marathon (3/6/21 - The Woodlands, TX) | 915 | 227 |
| 19 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/13/21 - North Bend, WA) | 538 | 213 |
| 20 | Baystate Marathon (10/17/21 - Lowell, MA) | 694 | 199 |
| 21 | Utah Valley Marathon (6/5/21 - Provo, UT) | 1,351 | 193 |
| 22 | Lakefront Marathon (10/3/21 - Milwaukee, WI) | 1,748 | 193 |
| 23 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Saturday Marathon (7/24/21 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 636 | 179 |
| 24 | Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) (12/12/21 - Dallas, TX) | 2,699 | 171 |
| 25 | Big Cottonwood Marathon (9/11/21 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 760 | 169 |
| 26 | Detroit International Marathon (10/17/21 - Detroit, MI) | 1,790 | 161 |
| 27 | Hartford Marathon (10/9/21 - Hartford, CT) | 1,320 | 159 |
| 28 | Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon (10/31/21 - Cincinnati, OH) | 1,682 | 145 |
| 29 | Atlantic City Marathon (10/17/21 - Atlantic City, NJ) | 1,133 | 143 |
| 30 | Myrtle Beach Marathon (5/1/21 - Myrtle Beach, SC) | 950 | 132 |
| 31 | Portland Oregon Marathon (10/3/21 - Portland, OR) | 1,355 | 127 |
| 32 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Marathon (7/25/21 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 427 | 120 |
| 33 | Georgina Marathon (10/17/21 - Georgina, ON) | 289 | 120 |
| 34 | Muskoka Marathon (10/3/21 - Bracebridge, ON) | 300 | 116 |
| 35 | Des Moines Marathon (10/17/21 - Des Moines, IA) | 1,027 | 112 |
| 36 | Rehoboth Seashore Marathon (12/4/21 - Rehoboth, DE) | 740 | 110 |
| 37 | Charlevoix Marathon (6/19/21 - Charlevoix, MI) | 650 | 109 |
| 38 | The Cheap! Marathon (4/11/21 - Salisbury, MA) | 284 | 107 |
| 39 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/12/21 - Erie, PA) | 469 | 107 |
| 40 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/14/21 - Harrisburg, PA) | 586 | 107 |
| 41 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/10/21 - Albany, NY) | 542 | 102 |
| 42 | Lincoln Marathon (5/2/21 - Lincoln, NE) | 725 | 100 |
| 43 | Maine Marathon (10/3/21 - Portland, ME) | 792 | 100 |
| 44 | Louisiana Marathon (3/7/21 - Baton Rouge, LA) | 627 | 99 |
| 45 | Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (10/24/21 - San Diego, CA) | 2,558 | 98 |
| 46 | Calgary Marathon (9/19/21 - Calgary, AB) | 664 | 96 |
| 47 | The San Francisco Marathon (9/19/21 - San Francisco, CA) | 3,181 | 94 |
| 48 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/29/21 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 562 | 93 |
| 49 | Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/2/21 - Providence, RI) | 578 | 92 |
| 50 | York Marathon and Half Marathon (5/16/21 - YORK, PA) | 370 | 89 |
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.
