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 – 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	Spring Chance BQ.2 Marathon – Sunday (4/18/21 – Geneva, IL)	64	57.7%
3	Georgina Marathon (10/17/21 – Georgina, ON)	120	41.8%
4	Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (6/13/21 – North Bend, WA)	213	40.5%
5	REVEL Big Bear and Half Marathon (11/13/21 – Big Bear, CA)	478	38.9%
6	Muskoka Marathon (10/3/21 – Bracebridge, ON)	116	38.7%
7	The Cheap! Marathon (4/11/21 – Salisbury, MA)	107	38.1%
8	California International Marathon (12/5/21 – Sacramento, CA)	2,563	34.6%
9	Two Rivers Marathon Race Festival (3/27/21 – Lackawaxen, PA)	69	32.7%
10	Glass City Marathon (4/25/21 – Toledo, OH)	342	31.8%
11	Jack and Jill’s Downhill Marathon (7/25/21 – Hyak to Tanner, WA)	120	29.4%
12	Jack and Jill’s Downhill Saturday Marathon (7/24/21 – Hyak to Tanner, WA)	179	29.3%
13	Baystate Marathon (10/17/21 – Lowell, MA)	199	29.1%
14	Carmel Marathon (4/3/21 – Carmel, IN)	301	29.0%
15	Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/6/21 – Indianapolis, IN)	1,082	28.0%
16	Charles River Marathon (10/31/21 – Boston, MA)	72	27.3%
17	The Woodlands Marathon (3/6/21 – The Woodlands, TX)	227	25.2%
18	Salisbury Marathon (4/3/21 – Salisbury, MD)	76	24.5%
19	York Marathon and Half Marathon (5/16/21 – YORK, PA)	89	24.2%
20	The Tunnel Lite Marathon (9/12/21 – North Bend, WA)	71	23.7%
21	Tunnel Vision Marathon (8/15/21 – North Bend, WA)	70	23.3%
22	Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/12/21 – Erie, PA)	107	23.2%
23	Big Cottonwood Marathon (9/11/21 – Salt Lake City, UT)	169	22.8%
24	Wilmington Marathon (4/17/21 – Wilmington, NC)	72	22.6%
25	LOCO Marathon (10/24/21 – Newmarket, NH)	56	21.5%
26	Clarence Demar Marathon (9/26/21 – Keene, NH)	53	21.2%
27	Marathon P’tit Train du Nord (10/3/21 – Saint-Jerome, QC)	310	21.1%
28	New England Green River Marathon (8/29/21 – Greenfield, MA)	57	21.1%
29	Boston Marathon (10/11/21 – Boston, MA)	2,987	19.8%
30	Marathon de Granby (10/17/21 – Montreal, QC)	65	19.7%
31	Harrisburg Marathon (11/14/21 – Harrisburg, PA)	107	19.6%
32	Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/10/21 – Albany, NY)	102	18.9%
33	Grandma’s Marathon (6/19/21 – Duluth, MN)	481	18.4%
34	Wineglass Marathon (10/3/21 – Corning, NY)	246	18.3%
35	Jacksonville Marathon (12/12/21 – Jacksonville, FL)	52	18.2%
36	Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon (12/12/21 – Biloxi, MS)	81	17.8%
37	Rhode Races Newport Marathon (5/22/21 – Newport, RI)	58	17.3%
38	The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/29/21 – Santa Rosa, CA)	93	17.3%
39	Charlevoix Marathon (6/19/21 – Charlevoix, MI)	109	16.8%
40	Louisiana Marathon (3/7/21 – Baton Rouge, LA)	99	16.7%
41	Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/2/21 – Providence, RI)	92	16.1%
42	Two Cities Marathon (11/7/21 – Fresno, CA)	52	15.9%
43	Bass Pro Shops Marathon (11/7/21 – Springfield, MO)	39	15.7%
44	Tobacco Road Marathon (5/16/21 – Cary, NC)	82	15.7%
45	Rehoboth Seashore Marathon (12/4/21 – Rehoboth, DE)	110	15.6%
46	St. George Marathon (10/2/21 – St. George, UT)	473	15.5%
47	Philadelphia Marathon (11/21/21 – Philadelphia, PA)	1,065	15.4%
48	Utah Valley Marathon (6/5/21 – Provo, UT)	193	15.0%
49	Calgary Marathon (9/19/21 – Calgary, AB)	96	14.9%
50	Myrtle Beach Marathon (5/1/21 – Myrtle Beach, SC)	132	14.5%

*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 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	Spring Chance BQ.2 Marathon (4/17/21 – Geneva, IL)	145	89

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.