Nov 3, 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 - 2017
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 2025? 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 - 2017
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2017. 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 | Last Chance BQ.2 Grand Rapids Marathon (9/9/17 - Grand Rapids, MI) | 80 | 58.9% |
| 2 | Last Chance BQ.2 Chicagoland Marathon (9/9/17 - Geneva, IL) | 111 | 51.6% |
| 3 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/10/17 - Erie, PA) | 668 | 44.3% |
| 4 | REVEL Mt Charleston (4/29/17 - Las Vegas, NV) | 507 | 40.0% |
| 5 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/11/17 - North Bend, WA) | 191 | 38.7% |
| 6 | The Tunnel Lite Marathon (9/17/17 - North Bend, WA) | 140 | 34.8% |
| 7 | Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via) (9/10/17 - Allentown, PA) | 255 | 33.8% |
| 8 | Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon (5/21/17 - Pocono Mountains, PA) | 190 | 33.5% |
| 9 | Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (5/28/17 - Ojai, CA) | 620 | 32.2% |
| 10 | Boston Marathon (4/17/17 - Boston, MA) | 7,990 | 30.4% |
| 11 | Peak to Creek Marathon (formerly Ridge to Bridge Marathon) (10/28/17 - Morganton, NC) | 90 | 28.8% |
| 12 | Baystate Marathon (10/22/17 - Lowell, MA) | 362 | 27.7% |
| 13 | LOCO Marathon (10/29/17 - Newmarket, NH) | 68 | 27.3% |
| 14 | Albany Marathon (formerly the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon) (3/4/17 - Albany, GA) | 134 | 27.2% |
| 15 | California International Marathon (12/3/17 - Sacramento, CA) | 1,694 | 27.1% |
| 16 | Jacksonville Marathon (12/16/17 - Jacksonville, FL) | 146 | 25.3% |
| 17 | Jack and Jill's Downhill Marathon (7/30/17 - Hyak to Tanner, WA) | 133 | 25.1% |
| 18 | REVEL Canyon City Marathon (11/4/17 - Azusa, CA) | 188 | 24.9% |
| 19 | Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half (9/9/17 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 338 | 24.9% |
| 20 | Marquette Marathon (9/2/17 - Marquette, MI) | 63 | 24.0% |
| 21 | Sugarloaf Marathon (5/21/17 - Carrabassett Valley, ME) | 163 | 23.2% |
| 22 | Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/5/17 - Hamilton, ON) | 183 | 23.2% |
| 23 | VENTURA MARATHON (10/22/17 - Ventura, CA) | 166 | 22.5% |
| 24 | Eugene Marathon (5/7/17 - Eugene, OR) | 325 | 22.4% |
| 25 | Glass City Marathon (4/23/17 - Toledo, OH) | 233 | 22.4% |
| 26 | Rockies Marathon (6/11/17 - Denver, CO) | 143 | 22.1% |
| 27 | Okanagan Marathon (10/8/17 - Kelowna, BC) | 74 | 21.8% |
| 28 | Carmel Marathon (4/22/17 - Carmel, IN) | 135 | 21.3% |
| 29 | Tucson Marathon (12/9/17 - Oracle, AZ) | 114 | 21.0% |
| 30 | Phoenix Marathon (2/25/17 - Mesa, AZ) | 400 | 20.7% |
| 31 | Huntsville Utah Marathon (9/16/17 - Huntsville, UT) | 70 | 20.5% |
| 32 | Town of Celebration Marathon (1/29/17 - Celebration, FL) | 80 | 20.3% |
| 33 | Foot Traffic Flat Marathon (7/4/17 - Portland, OR) | 53 | 20.1% |
| 34 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/12/17 - Harrisburg, PA) | 139 | 20.0% |
| 35 | Tobacco Road Marathon (3/19/17 - Cary, NC) | 159 | 19.9% |
| 36 | Hyannis Marathon (2/26/17 - Hyannis, MA) | 59 | 19.7% |
| 37 | St. George Marathon (10/7/17 - St. George, UT) | 872 | 19.6% |
| 38 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/27/17 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 187 | 19.4% |
| 39 | One City Marathon (3/12/17 - Newport News, VA) | 65 | 19.3% |
| 40 | WhistleStop Marathon (10/14/17 - Ashland, WI) | 55 | 18.6% |
| 41 | Bayshore Marathon (5/27/17 - Traverse City, MI) | 314 | 18.6% |
| 42 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/4/17 - Indianapolis, IN) | 822 | 18.3% |
| 43 | Wineglass Marathon (10/1/17 - Corning, NY) | 320 | 18.1% |
| 44 | Toronto Marathon (5/7/17 - Toronto, ON) | 205 | 17.8% |
| 45 | Rehoboth Seashore Marathon (12/2/17 - Rehoboth, DE) | 160 | 17.7% |
| 46 | Victoria Marathon (10/8/17 - Victoria, BC) | 182 | 17.6% |
| 47 | Newport Marathon (6/3/17 - Newport, OR) | 76 | 17.6% |
| 48 | Quebec City Marathon/Marathon des Deux Rives (8/27/17 - Quebec City, QC) | 178 | 17.4% |
| 49 | The Woodlands Marathon (3/4/17 - The Woodlands, TX) | 158 | 17.1% |
| 50 | Mississauga Marathon (5/7/17 - Mississauga, ON) | 106 | 17.0% |
*This list is limited to marathons with 250 or more finishers, or 60 or more qualifiers regardless of size. Percentages calculated ignore finishers over 6:00.
Boston Marathon Qualifying Races - Most Qualifiers 2017
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 2017.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Marathon (4/17/17 - Boston, MA) | 26,411 | 7,990 |
| 2 | New York City Marathon (11/5/17 - New York City, NY) | 50,643 | 4,478 |
| 3 | Chicago Marathon (10/8/17 - Chicago, IL) | 44,508 | 3,806 |
| 4 | California International Marathon (12/3/17 - Sacramento, CA) | 6,543 | 1,694 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Marathon (11/19/17 - Philadelphia, PA) | 7,761 | 991 |
| 6 | St. George Marathon (10/7/17 - St. George, UT) | 4,720 | 872 |
| 7 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/4/17 - Indianapolis, IN) | 4,677 | 822 |
| 8 | Grandma's Marathon (6/17/17 - Duluth, MN) | 6,438 | 731 |
| 9 | Twin Cities Marathon (10/1/17 - Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN) | 7,518 | 699 |
| 10 | Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/10/17 - Erie, PA) | 1,528 | 668 |
| 11 | Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/28/17 - Ottawa, ON) | 4,388 | 645 |
| 12 | Marine Corps Marathon (10/22/17 - Washington, DC) | 20,122 | 629 |
| 13 | Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (5/28/17 - Ojai, CA) | 1,947 | 620 |
| 14 | Richmond Marathon (11/11/17 - Richmond, VA) | 4,238 | 527 |
| 15 | REVEL Mt Charleston (4/29/17 - Las Vegas, NV) | 1,285 | 507 |
| 16 | Toronto Waterfront Marathon (10/22/17 - Toronto, ON) | 3,967 | 492 |
| 17 | Houston Marathon (1/15/17 - Houston, TX) | 7,109 | 476 |
| 18 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (3/19/17 - Los Angeles, CA) | 18,892 | 466 |
| 19 | Vancouver International Marathon (5/7/17 - Vancouver, BC) | 3,576 | 405 |
| 20 | Phoenix Marathon (2/25/17 - Mesa, AZ) | 2,004 | 400 |
| 21 | Honolulu Marathon (12/10/17 - Honololu, HI) | 20,350 | 371 |
| 22 | Baystate Marathon (10/22/17 - Lowell, MA) | 1,328 | 362 |
| 23 | Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half (9/9/17 - Salt Lake City, UT) | 1,384 | 338 |
| 24 | Eugene Marathon (5/7/17 - Eugene, OR) | 1,480 | 325 |
| 25 | Wineglass Marathon (10/1/17 - Corning, NY) | 1,846 | 320 |
| 26 | Bayshore Marathon (5/27/17 - Traverse City, MI) | 1,709 | 314 |
| 27 | Vermont City Marathon (5/28/17 - Burlington, VT) | 1,986 | 281 |
| 28 | Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon (5/7/17 - Cincinnati, OH) | 3,412 | 276 |
| 29 | Disney World Marathon (1/8/17 - Orlando, FL) | 17,729 | 275 |
| 30 | New Jersey Marathon (4/30/17 - Long Branch, NJ) | 2,014 | 274 |
| 31 | Pittsburgh Marathon (5/7/17 - Pittsburgh, PA) | 3,359 | 266 |
| 32 | The San Francisco Marathon (7/23/17 - San Francisco, CA) | 6,511 | 259 |
| 33 | Via Marathon (formerly the Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via) (9/10/17 - Allentown, PA) | 763 | 255 |
| 34 | Lakefront Marathon (10/1/17 - Milwaukee, WI) | 1,702 | 234 |
| 35 | Glass City Marathon (4/23/17 - Toledo, OH) | 1,070 | 233 |
| 36 | Portland Marathon (10/8/17 - Portland, OR) | 2,912 | 229 |
| 37 | Hartford Marathon (10/14/17 - Hartford, CT) | 1,618 | 229 |
| 38 | Dallas Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock Marathon) (12/10/17 - Dallas, TX) | 2,818 | 229 |
| 39 | Columbus Marathon (10/15/17 - Columbus, OH) | 3,195 | 226 |
| 40 | Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (6/4/17 - San Diego, CA) | 5,321 | 219 |
| 41 | Miami Marathon (1/29/17 - Miami & Miami Beach, FL) | 2,972 | 209 |
| 42 | Toronto Marathon (5/7/17 - Toronto, ON) | 1,186 | 205 |
| 43 | Big Sur International Marathon (4/30/17 - Carmel, CA) | 3,304 | 199 |
| 44 | Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon (1/15/17 - Phoenix, Scottsdale & Tempe, AZ) | 2,332 | 196 |
| 45 | Fargo Marathon (5/20/17 - Fargo, ND) | 1,301 | 191 |
| 46 | Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/11/17 - North Bend, WA) | 523 | 191 |
| 47 | Pocono Mountain Run For The Red Marathon (5/21/17 - Pocono Mountains, PA) | 567 | 190 |
| 48 | REVEL Canyon City Marathon (11/4/17 - Azusa, CA) | 783 | 188 |
| 49 | The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/27/17 - Santa Rosa, CA) | 1,062 | 187 |
| 50 | Napa Valley Marathon (3/5/17 - Napa, CA) | 1,269 | 184 |
Trying to qualify for Boston in 2025? 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.
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