50 Best Boston Qualifying Marathons in 2021

Each year it’s getting more difficult to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Even with the B.A.A. tightening qualifying standards by five minutes for the 2020 race, runners still needed to run 1:39 under their BQ to earn the right to run Boston. The following year, runners needed to be an unprecedented 7:47 under to run in 2021 due to the reduced field size. Fortunately, all applicants were accepted into the 2022 race – a result of the limited number of qualifying races during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since most races have resumed during the 2023 Boston qualifying window, runners will most likely need to run well under their qualifying time again. Boston hopefuls are going to need to train harder and choose a marathon that gives them the best chance to qualify.

We’ve helped runners out by compiling 2021’s 50 Best Marathons to Qualify for Boston. These races will give you a great chance to earn your 2023 BQ. And if the Boston Marathon is not your goal, the races on our list are all quality, well-organized, PR-worthy marathons.

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50 Best Boston Qualifying Races in 2021

RACE NAME (Previoius Rank)	RACE NAME ( Previoius Rank)
1. REVEL Big Bear Marathon (1)	26. Huntsville Marathon (31)
2. California International Marathon (4)	27. Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon (Illinois) (24)
3. Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (11)	28. Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon (NR)
4.  Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (5)	29. Rehoboth Beach Marathon (NR)
5. Glass City Marathon (17)	30. Columbus Marathon (NR)
6. Jack and Jill’s Downhill Marathon (WA) (7)	31. Tunnel Vision Marathon (9)
7. Carmel Marathon (47)	32. Richmond Marathon (NR)
8. REVEL Mt. Lemmon Marathon – Limited Edition (NR)	33. Wilmington Marathon (NR)
9. Cheap Marathon (NR)	34. Erie Marathon at Presque Isle (14)
10. Woodlands Marathon (NR)	35. Miles on the Mohawk Marathon (NR)
11. REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon (34)	36. New England Green River Marathon (36)
12. Baystate Marathon (13)	37. Rogue Marathon (NR)
13. Spring Chance BQ.2 Marathon (21)	38. LOCO Marathon (NR)
14. Grandma’s Marathon (16)	39. Myrtle Beach Marathon (NR)
15. REVEL Wasatch Marathon- Limited Edition (NR)	40. Charlevoix Marathon (NR)
16. St. George Marathon (15)	41. Fort Worth Marathon (NR)
17. Tunnel Light Marathon (10)	42. Mississippi River Marathon (NR)
18. Wineglass Marathon (35)	43. Santa Rosa Marathon (30)
19. Two Rivers Marathon (NR)	44. Utah Valley Marathon (NR)
20. Philadelphia Marathon (45)	45. Louisiana Marathon (NR)
21. York Marathon (NR)	46. Providence Marathon (28)
22. Salisbury Marathon (NR)	47. Atlantic City Marathon (NR)
23. Cascade Express Marathon (27)	48. Tomoka Marathon (NR)
24. Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (22)	49. Coastal Delaware Running Festival Marathon (NR)
25. Harrisburg Marathon (NR)	50. Clarence DeMar Marathon (NR)

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More Resources

Want to view which marathons have the highest percentage or most Boston Marathon Qualifiers?
Best Boston Qualifiers (2021)
Best Boston Qualifiers (2020)

Number and Percentage of Runners who have Qualified for the 2022 Boston Marathon.

Last year’s 50 Best Boston Marathon Qualifying Races

View the current Boston Marathon Qualifying Times and the historical cut-off times.

Our Criteria for the Top 50

The criteria used to determine our list of the best Boston qualifying races is a combination of:

• The percentage of finishers who ran Boston Marathon qualifying times for their age group,
• The total number of finishers achieving BQ standards, and
• Our PR Score** for the 2021 race.
• We did not include the Boston Marathon in our rankings.

**The Personal Record (PR) Score utilizes the course profile, elevation, and race time weather to create a score that can be compared to other marathons to determine at which race you could expect to run faster. The higher the score, the faster the race.