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 - 2003
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 - 2003
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2003. 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 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/19/03 - Albany, NY) | 176 | 39.1% |
| 2 | Bay State Marathon (10/19/03 - Lowell, MA) | 170 | 35.9% |
| 3 | Boston Marathon (4/21/03 - Boston, MA) | 4,998 | 29.3% |
| 4 | Sugarloaf Marathon (5/18/03 - Carrabassett Valley, ME, ME) | 76 | 28.1% |
| 5 | Wineglass Marathon (10/5/03 - Corning, NY) | 192 | 27.5% |
| 6 | North Central Trail Marathon (11/29/03 - Sparks, MD) | 102 | 27.2% |
| 7 | Glass City Marathon (4/13/03 - Toledo, OH) | 77 | 27.1% |
| 8 | Rocket City Marathon (12/13/03 - Hunstville, AL) | 223 | 25.6% |
| 9 | Steamtown Marathon (10/12/03 - Scranton, PA) | 349 | 25.3% |
| 10 | Tucson Marathon (12/7/03 - Oracle, AZ) | 294 | 24.5% |
| 11 | Newport Marathon (5/31/03 - Newport, OR) | 120 | 23.7% |
| 12 | Capital City Marathon (5/18/03 - Olympia, WA) | 107 | 23.7% |
| 13 | Clarence Demar Marathon (9/28/03 - Keene, NH) | 85 | 23.4% |
| 14 | Cape Cod Marathon (10/26/03 - Falmouth, MA) | 146 | 22.1% |
| 15 | Jacksonville Marathon (12/14/03 - Jacksonville, FL) | 172 | 21.7% |
| 16 | Buffalo Marathon (5/25/03 - Buffalo, NY) | 108 | 20.8% |
| 17 | St. George Marathon (10/4/03 - St. George, UT) | 892 | 20.7% |
| 18 | Bayshore Marathon (5/24/03 - Traverse City, MI) | 174 | 20.5% |
| 19 | Forest City Road Races Marathon (5/11/03 - London, ON) | 70 | 20.5% |
| 20 | Maine Marathon (10/5/03 - Portland, ME) | 127 | 20.4% |
| 21 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/23/03 - Philadelphia, PA) | 1,079 | 20.3% |
| 22 | Coeur d' Alene Marathon (5/25/03 - Coeur d'Alene, ID) | 50 | 20.2% |
| 23 | Hartford Marathon (10/11/03 - Hartford, CT) | 249 | 20.0% |
| 24 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/9/03 - Harrisburg, PA) | 67 | 19.9% |
| 25 | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (9/28/03 - Toronto, ON) | 156 | 19.8% |
| 26 | Calgary Marathon (7/6/03 - Calgary, AB) | 147 | 19.8% |
| 27 | California International Marathon (12/7/03 - Sacramento, CA) | 568 | 19.8% |
| 28 | Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives (8/24/03 - Quebec City, QC) | 212 | 19.3% |
| 29 | Mount Desert Island marathon (10/19/03 - Bar Harbor, ME) | 71 | 19.2% |
| 30 | Yakima River Canyon Marathon (4/5/03 - Yakima, WA) | 59 | 18.7% |
| 31 | Tybee Marathon (2/1/03 - Tybee Island, GA) | 59 | 18.6% |
| 32 | Columbus Marathon (10/19/03 - Columbus, OH) | 657 | 18.6% |
| 33 | Toronto Marathon (10/19/03 - Toronto, ON) | 351 | 18.6% |
| 34 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/14/03 - Erie, PA) | 56 | 18.5% |
| 35 | Richmond Marathon (11/15/03 - Richmond, VA) | 497 | 18.2% |
| 36 | Kiawah Island Marathon (12/13/03 - Kiawah Island, SC) | 166 | 17.8% |
| 37 | Lost Dutchman Marathon (1/19/03 - Apache Junction, AZ) | 53 | 17.6% |
| 38 | Colorado Marathon (prev. Fort Collins Old Town Marathon) (5/11/03 - Fort Collins, CO) | 68 | 17.6% |
| 39 | Siouxland Lewis & Clark Marathon (IA) (10/18/03 - Sioux City, IA) | 47 | 17.5% |
| 40 | Victoria Marathon (10/12/03 - Victoria, BC) | 447 | 17.3% |
| 41 | First Light Marathon (12/28/03 - Mobile, AL) | 48 | 17.1% |
| 42 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/11/03 - Ottawa, ON) | 436 | 17.0% |
| 43 | Cleveland Marathon (4/27/03 - Cleveland, OH) | 163 | 16.9% |
| 44 | Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon (3/15/03 - Virginia Beach, VA) | 187 | 16.8% |
| 45 | Ocean State Marathon (10/12/03 - Providence, RI) | 99 | 16.6% |
| 46 | Ontario Shore Marathon (5/3/03 - Hamlin, NY) | 50 | 16.5% |
| 47 | Vermont City Marathon (5/25/03 - Burlington, VT) | 343 | 16.4% |
| 48 | Gasparilla Distance Classic (1/5/03 - Tampa, FL) | 154 | 16.2% |
| 49 | Montgomery County Marathon In The Parks (11/9/03 - Bethesda, MD) | 135 | 16.1% |
| 50 | Long Island Marathon (5/4/03 - East Meadow, NY) | 73 | 16.1% |
*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 2003
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 2003.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Marathon (4/21/03 - Boston, MA) | 17,046 | 4,998 |
| 2 | Chicago Marathon (10/12/03 - Chicago, IL) | 32,395 | 3,631 |
| 3 | New York City Marathon (11/2/03 - New York City, NY) | 34,729 | 2,397 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/23/03 - Philadelphia, PA) | 5,354 | 1,079 |
| 5 | Grandma's Marathon (6/21/03 - Duluth, MN) | 6,868 | 896 |
| 6 | St. George Marathon (10/4/03 - St. George, UT) | 4,433 | 892 |
| 7 | Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (6/1/03 - San Diego, CA) | 16,185 | 798 |
| 8 | Austin Marathon (2/16/03 - Austin, TX) | 5,360 | 752 |
| 9 | Columbus Marathon (10/19/03 - Columbus, OH) | 3,993 | 657 |
| 10 | Honolulu Marathon (12/14/03 - Honololu, HI) | 22,136 | 641 |
| 11 | Portland Marathon (10/5/03 - Portland, OR) | 7,031 | 615 |
| 12 | Marine Corps Marathon (10/26/03 - Washington, DC) | 15,957 | 608 |
| 13 | California International Marathon (12/7/03 - Sacramento, CA) | 2,930 | 568 |
| 14 | Houston Marathon (1/19/03 - Houston, TX) | 4,699 | 560 |
| 15 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (3/2/03 - Los Angeles, CA) | 16,788 | 557 |
| 16 | Disney World Marathon (1/12/03 - Orlando, FL) | 9,404 | 524 |
| 17 | Vancouver International Marathon (5/4/03 - Vancouver, BC) | 4,342 | 518 |
| 18 | Richmond Marathon (11/15/03 - Richmond, VA) | 2,780 | 497 |
| 19 | Victoria Marathon (10/12/03 - Victoria, BC) | 2,655 | 447 |
| 20 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/11/03 - Ottawa, ON) | 2,576 | 436 |
| 21 | Detroit Free Press International Marathon (10/5/03 - Detroit, MI) | 2,778 | 392 |
| 22 | Dallas White Rock Marathon (12/14/03 - Dallas, TX) | 3,370 | 386 |
| 23 | Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon (5/4/03 - Cincinnati, OH) | 3,825 | 379 |
| 24 | Toronto Marathon (10/19/03 - Toronto, ON) | 1,899 | 351 |
| 25 | Steamtown Marathon (10/12/03 - Scranton, PA) | 1,396 | 349 |
| 26 | Vermont City Marathon (5/25/03 - Burlington, VT) | 2,121 | 343 |
| 27 | Tucson Marathon (12/7/03 - Oracle, AZ) | 1,230 | 294 |
| 28 | Pittsburgh Marathon (defunct: 1985-2003) (5/4/03 - Pittsburgh, PA) | 2,208 | 265 |
| 29 | Napa Valley Marathon (3/2/03 - Napa, CA) | 1,735 | 263 |
| 30 | Seattle Marathon (11/30/03 - Seattle, WA) | 1,975 | 252 |
| 31 | Hartford Marathon (10/11/03 - Hartford, CT) | 1,249 | 249 |
| 32 | Baltimore Marathon (10/18/03 - Baltimore, MD) | 2,070 | 239 |
| 33 | Country Music Marathon (4/26/03 - Nashville, TN) | 3,125 | 232 |
| 34 | Rocket City Marathon (12/13/03 - Hunstville, AL) | 876 | 223 |
| 35 | Las Vegas International Marathon (2/2/03 - Las Vegas, NV) | 2,533 | 222 |
| 36 | Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives (8/24/03 - Quebec City, QC) | 1,103 | 212 |
| 37 | Carlsbad Marathon (1/19/03 - Carlsbad, CA) | 1,950 | 211 |
| 38 | Big Sur International Marathon (4/27/03 - Carmel, CA) | 2,820 | 209 |
| 39 | Wineglass Marathon (10/5/03 - Corning, NY) | 699 | 192 |
| 40 | Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon (3/15/03 - Virginia Beach, VA) | 1,192 | 187 |
| 41 | Miami Marathon (2/2/03 - Miami & Miami Beach, FL) | 1,455 | 186 |
| 42 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/19/03 - Albany, NY) | 450 | 176 |
| 43 | Bayshore Marathon (5/24/03 - Traverse City, MI) | 852 | 174 |
| 44 | Jacksonville Marathon (12/14/03 - Jacksonville, FL) | 802 | 172 |
| 45 | Top of Utah Marathon (9/20/03 - Logan, UT) | 1,313 | 170 |
| 46 | Bay State Marathon (10/19/03 - Lowell, MA) | 473 | 170 |
| 47 | The San Francisco Marathon (7/27/03 - San Francisco, CA) | 1,891 | 166 |
| 48 | Kiawah Island Marathon (12/13/03 - Kiawah Island, SC) | 968 | 166 |
| 49 | Cleveland Marathon (4/27/03 - Cleveland, OH) | 994 | 163 |
| 50 | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (9/28/03 - Toronto, ON) | 795 | 156 |
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.
