Apr 24, 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 - 2016
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 - 2016
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2016. 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 | 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon (2/13/16 - Los Angeles, CA) | 149 | 100.0% |
| 2 | 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon (2/13/16 - Los Angeles, CA) | 105 | 100.0% |
| 3 | REVEL Mt Charleston (5/7/16 - Las Vegas, NV) | 238 | 40.1% |
| 4 | Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon (5/15/16 - Pocono Mountains, PA) | 206 | 37.7% |
| 5 | The Tunnel Lite Marathon (9/18/16 - North Bend, WA) | 173 | 35.8% |
| 6 | Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (5/29/16 - Ojai, CA) | 603 | 30.7% |
| 7 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/11/16 - Erie, PA) | 410 | 30.0% |
| 8 | Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half (9/10/16 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 392 | 29.9% |
| 9 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/12/16 - North Bend, WA) | 162 | 28.7% |
| 10 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/6/16 - Hamilton, ON) | 219 | 28.5% |
| 11 | Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon (5/14/16 - St. Joseph, MN) | 90 | 27.6% |
| 12 | Sugarloaf Marathon (5/15/16 - Carrabassett Valley, ME) | 172 | 26.5% |
| 13 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/9/16 - Albany, NY) | 293 | 26.3% |
| 14 | Huntsville Utah Marathon (9/17/16 - Huntsville, UT) | 67 | 25.1% |
| 15 | California International Marathon (12/4/16 - Sacramento, CA) | 1,412 | 23.9% |
| 16 | REVEL Canyon City Marathon (11/12/16 - Azusa, CA) | 238 | 23.3% |
| 17 | Jacksonville Marathon (1/3/16 - Jacksonville, FL) | 101 | 22.9% |
| 18 | Clarence Demar Marathon (9/25/16 - Keene, NH) | 58 | 21.2% |
| 19 | Baystate Marathon (10/16/16 - Lowell, MA) | 277 | 21.1% |
| 20 | Steamtown Marathon (10/9/16 - Scranton, PA) | 355 | 21.0% |
| 21 | Marquette Marathon (9/3/16 - Marquette, MI) | 62 | 21.0% |
| 22 | Rockies Marathon (6/12/16 - Denver, CO) | 138 | 20.9% |
| 23 | Albany Marathon (formerly the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon) (3/5/16 - Albany, GA) | 117 | 20.9% |
| 24 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/28/16 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 247 | 20.5% |
| 25 | Peak to Creek Marathon (formerly Ridge to Bridge Marathon) (10/29/16 - Morganton, NC) | 57 | 20.0% |
| 26 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Marathon (7/31/16 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 103 | 20.0% |
| 27 | Marathon de Rimouski (10/2/16 - Rimouski, QC) | 59 | 19.7% |
| 28 | Foot Traffic Flat Marathon (7/4/16 - Portland, OR) | 58 | 19.7% |
| 29 | Eugene Marathon (5/1/16 - Eugene, OR) | 316 | 19.6% |
| 30 | Manchester City Marathon (11/6/16 - Manchester, NH) | 90 | 19.5% |
| 31 | Wrightsville Beach Marathon (3/20/16 - Wrightsville Beach, NC) | 105 | 19.3% |
| 32 | VENTURA MARATHON (9/11/16 - Ventura, CA) | 116 | 17.9% |
| 33 | Glass City Marathon (4/24/16 - Toledo, OH) | 195 | 17.4% |
| 34 | North Central Trail Marathon (11/26/16 - Sparks, MD) | 47 | 17.3% |
| 35 | Victoria Marathon (10/9/16 - Victoria, BC) | 182 | 17.3% |
| 36 | Okanagan Marathon (10/9/16 - Kelowna, BC) | 62 | 17.2% |
| 37 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/5/16 - Indianapolis, IN) | 686 | 17.1% |
| 38 | Delaware Marathon (5/8/16 - Wilmington, DE) | 57 | 17.1% |
| 39 | Big Wild Life Runs Marathon (prev. Humpy's Classic Marathon) (8/21/16 - Anchorage, AK) | 44 | 17.1% |
| 40 | Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives (8/28/16 - Quebec City, QC) | 179 | 17.0% |
| 41 | Mississauga Marathon (5/1/16 - Mississauga, ON) | 122 | 17.0% |
| 42 | Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/1/16 - Providence, RI) | 170 | 16.7% |
| 43 | Boston Marathon (4/18/16 - Boston, MA) | 4,324 | 16.3% |
| 44 | Toronto Marathon (5/1/16 - Toronto, ON) | 238 | 16.2% |
| 45 | Hyannis Marathon (2/28/16 - Hyannis, MA) | 60 | 16.1% |
| 46 | Chicagoland Marathon (5/15/16 - Schaumburg, IL) | 64 | 15.9% |
| 47 | Phoenix Marathon (2/27/16 - Mesa, AZ) | 325 | 15.8% |
| 48 | Rehoboth Seashore Marathon (12/3/16 - Rehoboth, DE) | 132 | 15.8% |
| 49 | Top of Utah Marathon (9/17/16 - Logan, UT) | 54 | 15.8% |
| 50 | St. George Marathon (10/1/16 - St. George, UT) | 792 | 15.7% |
*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 2016
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 2016.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Marathon (4/18/16 - Boston, MA) | 26,639 | 4,324 |
| 2 | Chicago Marathon (10/9/16 - Chicago, IL) | 40,608 | 4,125 |
| 3 | New York City Marathon (11/6/16 - New York City, NY) | 48,468 | 3,760 |
| 4 | California International Marathon (12/4/16 - Sacramento, CA) | 6,174 | 1,412 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/20/16 - Philadelphia, PA) | 8,982 | 1,145 |
| 6 | Houston Marathon (1/17/16 - Houston, TX) | 7,807 | 929 |
| 7 | Twin Cities Marathon (10/9/16 - Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN) | 8,551 | 919 |
| 8 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (2/14/16 - Los Angeles, CA) | 20,619 | 803 |
| 9 | St. George Marathon (10/1/16 - St. George, UT) | 5,417 | 792 |
| 10 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/5/16 - Indianapolis, IN) | 4,175 | 686 |
| 11 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/29/16 - Ottawa, ON) | 4,181 | 631 |
| 12 | Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (5/29/16 - Ojai, CA) | 2,006 | 603 |
| 13 | Marine Corps Marathon (10/30/16 - Washington, DC) | 19,724 | 596 |
| 14 | Grandma's Marathon (6/18/16 - Duluth, MN) | 7,521 | 565 |
| 15 | Richmond Marathon (11/12/16 - Richmond, VA) | 4,056 | 467 |
| 16 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/11/16 - Erie, PA) | 1,382 | 410 |
| 17 | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (10/16/16 - Toronto, ON) | 3,707 | 406 |
| 18 | Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half (9/10/16 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 1,333 | 392 |
| 19 | Steamtown Marathon (10/9/16 - Scranton, PA) | 1,712 | 355 |
| 20 | Vancouver International Marathon (5/1/16 - Vancouver, BC) | 3,773 | 338 |
| 21 | Columbus Marathon (10/16/16 - Columbus, OH) | 3,823 | 330 |
| 22 | Phoenix Marathon (2/27/16 - Mesa, AZ) | 2,109 | 325 |
| 23 | Honolulu Marathon (12/11/16 - Honololu, HI) | 20,222 | 319 |
| 24 | Eugene Marathon (5/1/16 - Eugene, OR) | 1,674 | 316 |
| 25 | Portland Marathon (10/9/16 - Portland, OR) | 4,421 | 305 |
| 26 | The San Francisco Marathon (7/31/16 - San Francisco, CA) | 6,258 | 296 |
| 27 | Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/9/16 - Albany, NY) | 1,113 | 293 |
| 28 | New Jersey Marathon (5/1/16 - Long Branch, NJ) | 1,938 | 284 |
| 29 | Rock 'n' Roll Montreal Marathon (9/25/16 - Montreal, QC) | 3,682 | 280 |
| 30 | Lakefront Marathon (10/2/16 - Milwaukee, WI) | 1,905 | 279 |
| 31 | Baystate Marathon (10/16/16 - Lowell, MA) | 1,329 | 277 |
| 32 | Hartford Marathon (10/8/16 - Hartford, CT) | 1,809 | 253 |
| 33 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/28/16 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 1,276 | 247 |
| 34 | Miami Marathon (1/24/16 - Miami & Miami Beach, FL) | 3,061 | 241 |
| 35 | Toronto Marathon (5/1/16 - Toronto, ON) | 1,491 | 238 |
| 36 | REVEL Mt Charleston (5/7/16 - Las Vegas, NV) | 610 | 238 |
| 37 | REVEL Canyon City Marathon (11/12/16 - Azusa, CA) | 1,072 | 238 |
| 38 | Wineglass Marathon (10/2/16 - Corning, NY) | 1,918 | 231 |
| 39 | Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (6/5/16 - San Diego, CA) | 5,793 | 230 |
| 40 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/6/16 - Hamilton, ON) | 776 | 219 |
| 41 | Napa Valley Marathon (3/6/16 - Napa, CA) | 1,719 | 215 |
| 42 | Pittsburgh Marathon (5/1/16 - Pittsburgh, PA) | 3,681 | 214 |
| 43 | New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon (2/28/16 - New Orleans, LA) | 3,625 | 209 |
| 44 | Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon (1/17/16 - Phoenix, Scottsdale & Tempe, AZ) | 2,335 | 207 |
| 45 | Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon (5/15/16 - Pocono Mountains, PA) | 559 | 206 |
| 46 | Bayshore Marathon (5/28/16 - Traverse City, MI) | 2,012 | 206 |
| 47 | Cleveland Marathon (5/15/16 - Cleveland, OH) | 1,485 | 203 |
| 48 | Glass City Marathon (4/24/16 - Toledo, OH) | 1,146 | 195 |
| 49 | Disney World Marathon (1/10/16 - Orlando, FL) | 19,838 | 186 |
| 50 | Myrtle Beach Marathon (3/5/16 - Myrtle Beach, SC) | 1,425 | 185 |
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.
