Looking For a Big City BQ Fall Marathon (Not Chicago) (Read 848 times)

St. George also looks promising, would the downhills there crush a beach dweller?

I'd be more worried about the elevation. Also, it looks like you need to register by tomorrow if you want to run St. George this year. I hear Detroit is fast...

Speaking of Toronto, "September 28th Scotia bank Waterfront Marathon". Flat as a pancake since it follows the shoreline of Lake ontario. It is billed a North America's 4th fastest Marathon. Funny thing it also claims that you can attempt to BQ for 2009 or 2010 or both. How and why that is, I don't know.

The qualifying window is ~ 19 months long. For example this years race qualifying opened 23 Sept 2006. So a race in late Sept. '06 could have qualified you for the '07 or the '08 race. Same thing for subsequent years.

Check out Marathon Guide's list of the top BQ marathons (in % of runners). The Bay State marathon that others have mentioned is 3rd on there, mid October, 30% of runners BQ. It also depends how far you want to travel. Closer to you is the Marshall University Marathon in Huntington, WV (21+% BQ) first week in Nov. Then for the tourism aspect there's the Niagara Falls International Marathon (22% BQ) at the end of October. A Big City Marathon relatively close to you that qualifies a high % of runners for Boston is the Philadelphia Marathon in Mid November (2007: 6668 runners, 1369 BQ'd, 21%).