gramapower
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
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".
GreyBeard
Isn't St. George, UT also a good one - downhill race I think (as is Tucson).
2020
Zeus
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
finally Sub-3!!!
This should help. Good luck.
My Race Reports & My Race Results
A Saucy Wench
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.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
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.
BexKix, Bagel Defender
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.
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
Here is a list of the marathons with the greatest numbers of BQ'ers for 2012 (from Marathonguide.com 
How do only 13% of the people in the boston marathon qualify for boston.......
oh wait, I forgot about the weather this year.
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 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.
[Competitive] Jerk
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.
No more marathons
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.
Boston 2014 - a 33 year journey
Lordy, I hope there are tapes.
He's a leaker!