Nov 13, 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 - 2020
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.
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Boston Marathon Qualifying Races - Most Likely To Qualify - 2020
The marathons below had the highest percent of Boston qualifying finishers in 2020. 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 | 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon (2/29/20 - Atlanta, GA) | 390 | 100.0% |
| 2 | 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon (2/29/20 - Atlanta, GA) | 175 | 100.0% |
| 3 | The Marathon Project (12/20/20 - Chandler, AZ) | 76 | 100.0% |
| 4 | Last Chance BQ.2 Grand Rapids Marathon (9/12/20 - Grand Rapids, MI) | 158 | 56.7% |
| 5 | Manchester City Marathon (11/8/20 - Manchester, NH) | 92 | 24.9% |
| 6 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/8/20 - Harrisburg, PA) | 117 | 24.6% |
| 7 | Holland Haven Marathon (9/13/20 - Holland, MI) | 64 | 23.9% |
| 8 | One City Marathon (3/1/20 - Newport News, VA) | 81 | 23.6% |
| 9 | Jacksonville Marathon (1/5/20 - Jacksonville, FL) | 103 | 22.4% |
| 10 | Albany Marathon (formerly the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon) (3/7/20 - Albany, GA) | 89 | 22.1% |
| 11 | Phoenix Marathon (2/8/20 - Mesa, AZ) | 440 | 19.7% |
| 12 | Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon (12/13/20 - Biloxi, MS) | 100 | 17.9% |
| 13 | Napa Valley Marathon (3/1/20 - Napa, CA) | 253 | 17.6% |
| 14 | Mt. Nebo Marathon (8/29/20 - Payson, UT) | 46 | 16.0% |
| 15 | Bass Pro Shops Marathon (11/1/20 - Springfield, MO) | 39 | 15.6% |
| 16 | Town of Celebration Marathon (1/26/20 - Celebration, FL) | 42 | 14.2% |
| 17 | Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon (1/26/20 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL) | 76 | 14.0% |
| 18 | Myrtle Beach Marathon (3/7/20 - Myrtle Beach, SC) | 119 | 12.8% |
| 19 | Omaha Marathon (9/20/20 - Omaha, NE) | 37 | 12.5% |
| 20 | The Woodlands Marathon (3/7/20 - The Woodlands, TX) | 106 | 12.4% |
| 21 | Mercedes Marathon (2/16/20 - Birmingham, AL) | 55 | 11.7% |
*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 2020
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 2020.
| Rank | Marathon | Finishers | Boston Qualifiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (3/8/20 - Los Angeles, CA) | 21,626 | 641 |
| 2 | Houston Marathon (1/19/20 - Houston, TX) | 6,901 | 625 |
| 3 | Phoenix Marathon (2/8/20 - Mesa, AZ) | 2,276 | 440 |
| 4 | 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon (2/29/20 - Atlanta, GA) | 390 | 390 |
| 5 | Napa Valley Marathon (3/1/20 - Napa, CA) | 1,452 | 253 |
| 6 | Georgia Marathon (3/1/20 - Atlanta, GA) | 2,102 | 195 |
| 7 | 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon (2/29/20 - Atlanta, GA) | 175 | 175 |
| 8 | Last Chance BQ.2 Grand Rapids Marathon (9/12/20 - Grand Rapids, MI) | 278 | 158 |
| 9 | Myrtle Beach Marathon (3/7/20 - Myrtle Beach, SC) | 987 | 119 |
| 10 | Harrisburg Marathon (11/8/20 - Harrisburg, PA) | 506 | 117 |
| 11 | Miami Marathon (2/9/20 - Miami & Miami Beach, FL) | 3,069 | 111 |
| 12 | Surf City Marathon (prev. Pacific Shoreline Marathon) (2/2/20 - Huntington Beach, CA) | 1,345 | 106 |
| 13 | The Woodlands Marathon (3/7/20 - The Woodlands, TX) | 882 | 106 |
| 14 | Jacksonville Marathon (1/5/20 - Jacksonville, FL) | 462 | 103 |
| 15 | Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon (12/13/20 - Biloxi, MS) | 601 | 100 |
| 16 | Austin Marathon (2/16/20 - Austin, TX) | 2,791 | 98 |
| 17 | Disney World Marathon (1/12/20 - Orlando, FL) | 14,106 | 97 |
| 18 | Manchester City Marathon (11/8/20 - Manchester, NH) | 388 | 92 |
| 19 | Albany Marathon (formerly the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar Marathon) (3/7/20 - Albany, GA) | 418 | 89 |
| 20 | Louisiana Marathon (1/19/20 - Baton Rouge, LA) | 912 | 86 |
| 21 | Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon (1/19/20 - Phoenix, Scottsdale & Tempe, AZ) | 1,685 | 82 |
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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