RunningAHEAD - Topic: best marathon to get a Boston Qualifier

carolynlaitsch

gramapower

posted: 10/30/2011 at 4:45 PM

I ran the Whistelstop marathon (my first) and missed qualifying for Boston by 35 seconds (2013 race). Now I want to get that BQ. I live and train in Colorado. What race is the best to get that BQ that is located in the southwest. I have family in Wisconsin, so traveling there is also an option.

carolynlaitsch

xor

posted: 11/21/2011 at 5:47 PM

Tucson in the southwest. If you live in Denver or a little higher, the Colorado Marathon (Ft Collins) is a good option too.

Wisconsin has several races would serve very well... but you asked about "best".

HoosierDaddy

GreyBeard

posted: 12/22/2011 at 4:50 PM

Quote from carolynlaitsch on 10/30/2011 at 4:45 PM:

I ran the Whistelstop marathon (my first) and missed qualifying for Boston by 35 seconds (2013 race). Now I want to get that BQ. I live and train in Colorado. What race is the best to get that BQ that is located in the southwest. I have family in Wisconsin, so traveling there is also an option.

Isn't St. George, UT also a good one - downhill race I think (as is Tucson).

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Zeus

posted: 1/4/2012 at 11:31 AM

I qualified for Boston at the Wisconsin marathon. Flat. Fast. Very little crowd support. A few miles of packed stone roads. Cool temps.

2nd life PR's: 19:24 5k / 39:52 10k / 1:27:36 1/2 mar / 3:08:03 marathon

Borden

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posted: 1/18/2012 at 11:40 AM

Quote from carolynlaitsch on 10/30/2011 at 4:45 PM:

I ran the Whistelstop marathon (my first) and missed qualifying for Boston by 35 seconds (2013 race). Now I want to get that BQ. I live and train in Colorado. What race is the best to get that BQ that is located in the southwest. I have family in Wisconsin, so traveling there is also an option.

This should help. Good luck.

top 50 BQ marathons

My Race Reports & My Race Results

Ennay

A Saucy Wench

posted: 3/19/2012 at 10:35 AM

Unfortunately that chart can be skewed quite a bit. San Deigo for example attracts a very high % of TNT runners so the times skew slow. Boston obviously does the opposite. Smaller races tend to attract fewer hobbyjoggers so the times skew a bit fast as well I think.

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xhristopher

posted: 3/19/2012 at 11:24 AM

Every time I see that chart I think to myself "If you need a BQ just go run Boston" BUT there is an inherent problem to that strategy if you actually NEED a BQ. Fortunately there are faster courses.

Bec_IowaRose

BexKix, Bagel Defender

posted: 11/24/2012 at 9:12 AM

I'm a marathon virgin so take this with a grain of salt... as I've been considering where to run my first it seems there a about a bazillion and one ways to slice the statistics on this. Best race by % of BQers? Best race by # of BQers? All this fails to take into consideration what you personally are strong at as a runner, and what kind of temperatures and crowds you do well with.

35 seconds isn't a whole lot. Best of luck, I hope get your BQ.

Mysecondnewname

posted: 11/26/2012 at 11:26 PM
modified: 11/26/2012 at 11:27 PM

Here is a more up to date (2012) list of percentage of BQ's during various marathons. (from Marathonguide.com)

http://www.marathonguide.com/races/BostonMarathonQualifyingRaces.cfm

Rank	Marathon	Boston Qualifiers	Qualifying Percent*
1.	The Santa Rosa Marathon (8/26/12 - Santa Rosa, CA)	185	34.8%
2.	Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/4/12 - Hamilton, ON)	346	32.1%
3.	Bay State Marathon (10/21/12 - Lowell, MA)	302	26.6%
4.	Lehigh Valley Hospital Marathon for Via (9/9/12 - Allentown, PA)	134	24.8%
5.	Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (9/16/12 - Erie, PA)	161	24.3%
6.	Buffalo Marathon (5/27/12 - Buffalo, NY)	253	24.1%
7.	Sioux Falls Marathon (9/9/12 - Sioux Falls, SD)	61	23.6%
8.	Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon (6/3/12 - Ojai, CA)	188	23.5%
9.	Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (7/15/12 - North Bend, WA)	76	22.7%
10.	Ridge to Bridge Marathon (10/27/12 - Morganton, NC)	73	22.7%
11.	Steamtown Marathon (10/7/12 - Scranton, PA)	400	21.0%
12.	Veterans Marathon (11/10/12 - Columbia City, IN)	55	20.6%
13.	Eugene Marathon (4/29/12 - Eugene, OR)	467	20.5%
14.	WhistleStop Marathon (10/13/12 - Ashland, WI)	88	20.1%
15.	Wineglass Marathon (9/30/12 - Corning, NY)	311	20.0%
16.	Cox Sports Providence Marathon (5/6/12 - Providence, RI)	266	19.9%
17.	Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (10/7/12 - Albany, NY)	178	19.4%
18.	Manchester City Marathon (11/4/12 - Manchester, NH)	134	19.4%
19.	Big Cottonwood Marathon & Half (9/22/12 - Cottonwood Heights, UT)	52	19.3%
20.	Harrisburg Marathon (11/11/12 - Harrisburg, PA)	289	19.2%
21.	St. George Marathon (10/6/12 - St. George, UT)	1,015	18.6%
22.	Delaware & Lehigh Heritage Marathon (11/4/12 - Northampton, PA)	49	18.5%
23.	Glass City Marathon (4/22/12 - Toledo, OH)	144	18.5%
24.	Cape Cod Marathon (10/28/12 - Falmouth, MA)	182	18.0%
25.	Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon (5/12/12 - St. Joseph, MN)	52	18.0%
26.	Towpath Marathon (10/7/12 - Cleveland/Akron Area, OH)	73	17.9%
27.	Sugarloaf Marathon (5/20/12 - Carrabassett Valley, ME)	99	17.6%
28.	Carmel Marathon (4/21/12 - Carmel, IN)	97	17.5%
29.	Sunburst Marathon (6/2/12 - South Bend, IN)	77	17.3%
30.	B&A Trail Marathon (3/4/12 - Severna Park, MD)	55	17.1%

Mysecondnewname

posted: 11/26/2012 at 11:28 PM

Here is a list of the marathons with the greatest numbers of BQ'ers for 2012 (from Marathonguide.com Wink

http://www.marathonguide.com/races/BostonMarathonQualifyingRaces.cfm

Rank	Marathon	Finishers	Boston Qualifiers
1.	Chicago Marathon (10/7/12 - Chicago, IL)	37,455	3,776
2.	Boston Marathon (4/16/12 - Boston, MA)	21,554	2,705
3.	Philadelphia Marathon (11/18/12 - Philadelphia, PA)	11,553	1,708
4.	Twin Cities Marathon (10/7/12 - Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN)	8,781	1,132
5.	St. George Marathon (10/6/12 - St. George, UT)	5,696	1,015
6.	Marine Corps Marathon (10/28/12 - Washington, DC)	23,515	998
7.	Houston Marathon (1/15/12 - Houston, TX)	7,637	997
8.	Grandma's Marathon (6/16/12 - Duluth, MN)	5,785	695
9.	Columbus Marathon (10/21/12 - Columbus, OH)	5,470	694
10.	City of Los Angeles Marathon (L.A. Marathon) (3/18/12 - Los Angeles, CA)	18,729	667
11.	Ottawa Marathon (National Capital Race Weekend) (5/27/12 - Ottawa, ON)	4,178	640
12.	Richmond Marathon (11/10/12 - Richmond, VA)	4,716	601
13.	Portland Marathon (10/7/12 - Portland, OR)	6,518	550
14.	Disney World Marathon (1/8/12 - Orlando, FL)	13,467	483
15.	Vancouver International Marathon (5/6/12 - Vancouver, BC)	4,232	481
16.	Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11/3/12 - Indianapolis, IN)	2,865	473
17.	Eugene Marathon (4/29/12 - Eugene, OR)	2,345	467
18.	The San Francisco Marathon (7/29/12 - San Francisco, CA)	6,440	436
19.	Toronto Waterfront Marathon (10/14/12 - Toronto, ON)	3,242	403
20.	Steamtown Marathon (10/7/12 - Scranton, PA)	1,930	400
21.	Hartford Marathon (10/13/12 - Hartford, CT)	2,528	360
22.	Road2Hope Hamilton Marathon (11/4/12 - Hamilton, ON)	1,081	346
23.	Lakefront Marathon (10/7/12 - Milwaukee, WI)	2,112	337
24.	Detroit Free Press International Marathon (10/21/12 - Detroit, MI)	3,708	325
25.	Vermont City Marathon (5/27/12 - Burlington, VT)	2,420	323
26.	Wineglass Marathon (9/30/12 - Corning, NY)	1,584	311
27.	Rock 'n' Roll Marathon (6/3/12 - San Diego, CA)	7,086	309
28.	Bay State Marathon (10/21/12 - Lowell, MA)	1,146	302
29.	Harrisburg Marathon (11/11/12 - Harrisburg, PA)	1,514	289
30.	Pittsburgh Marathon (5/6/12 - Pittsburgh, PA)	4,608	287

Viich

posted: 11/27/2012 at 11:30 AM

Rank	Marathon	Finishers	Boston Qualifiers
1.	Chicago Marathon (10/7/12 - Chicago, IL)	37,455	3,776
2.	Boston Marathon (4/16/12 - Boston, MA)	21,554	2,705

How do only 13% of the people in the boston marathon qualify for boston.......

oh wait, I forgot about the weather this year.

Mysecondnewname

posted: 11/27/2012 at 12:51 PM

I wonder if some people look at getting to Boston as the goal and once they are there, they are there to celebrate as opposed to race?

(Don't know for sure, as I'm still chasing that dream Smile )

vegefrog

posted: 12/10/2012 at 9:36 AM

I think people BQ on flat courses in ideal weather after completing some of the the best training of their life ( at least thus far). I am aiming to BQ in Chicago October 13th, 2013. Boston itself isn't exactly flat and sometimes the weather isn't ideal. I think also, like you said people are just so happy to be there and maybe get caught up in the atmosphere and celebration, that they don't do as well once they actually RUN Boston.

GregTR

[Competitive] Jerk

posted: 12/13/2012 at 2:46 PM

Quote from vegefrog on 12/10/2012 at 9:36 AM:

I think people BQ on flat courses in ideal weather after completing some of the the best training of their life ( at least thus far).

+1. Those statistics and lists have way too many variables to be truly meaningful. If you are on the verge of qualifying, meaning 1 minute to make or break, weather will have far more effect on our chances than terrain. And as we all know weather is a fickle bitch! Most marathons will have some elevation in them and I think anything under 500ft is to be expected. The flattest marathons in the US are Houston and Chicago. Some of those net downhill marathons, such as CIM, St. George, Boston can be tough courses if the weather does not cooperate, just as Houston can be humid as hell in January and, well Chicago pretty much sucked for 2 out of the last 3 years.

still bluesky

No more marathons

posted: 12/13/2012 at 7:49 PM

Quote from Mysecondnewname on 11/27/2012 at 12:51 PM:

I wonder if some people look at getting to Boston as the goal and once they are there, they are there to celebrate as opposed to race?

(Don't know for sure, as I'm still chasing that dream )

I suspect I will fit into that category. Got my BQ in October this year and will run Boston in 2014 - not sure how much I will be interested in a hard training cycle bofore then.

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best marathon to get a Boston Qualifier (Read 1101 times)