50 Best Boston Qualifiers in 2023

After two years of runners having to only meet the BQ standard to be accepted into the Boston Marathon, qualifying for Boston 2024 became more difficult once again. In order to qualify for the 2024 race, runners needed to run 5:29 faster than the qualifying time to be accepted. With BQs for the 2025 race up over 30% already compared to last year, it looks like it may take even faster times to qualify for the next Boston Marathon.

No matter what BQ time is necessary to qualify for 2025, runners will need to find fast, quality races which give them the best chance to qualify for Boston. We’ve helped runners out by compiling 2023’s 50 Best Marathons to Qualify for Boston. These races will give you a great chance to earn your 2025 BQ. And if the Boston Marathon is not your goal, the races on our list are all quality, well-organized, PR-worthy marathons.

This year’s list is dominated by downhill marathons. Half of the races and the top 6 have a significant net downhill course. We know downhill courses aren’t for everyone. If that includes you, check out our list of the 50 Best Non-Downhill Boston Qualifiers.

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50 Best Boston Qualifying Races in 2023

RACE NAME (Previous Rank)	RACE NAME ( Previous Rank)
1. REVEL Big Bear Marathon (1)	26. Wineglass Marathon (15)
2. REVEL Mt. Charleston Marathon (3)	27. Cheap Marathon (26)
3. California International Marathon (2)	28. Steamtown Marathon (21)
4.  Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon (4)	29. Napa Valley Marathon (24)
5. Tunnel Light Marathon (6)	30. Richmond Marathon (NR)
6. Mesa Marathon (7)	31. Philadelphia Marathon (29)
7. Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (16)	32. Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon (Michigan) (NR)
8. Chicago Marathon (17)	33. REVEL Rockies Marathon (30)
9. Mountains 2 Beach Marathon (NR)	34. Houston Marathon (11)
10. Glass City Marathon (48)	35. Jersey City Marathon (NR)
11. Eugene Marathon (8)	36. Harrisburg Marathon (45)
12. Sugarloaf Marathon (28)	37. Columbus Marathon (31)
13. Jack and Jill’s Downhill Marathon (10)	38. Shamrock Marathon (NR)
14. Ventura Marathon (14)	39. Cape Cod Marathon (NR)
15. Baystate Marathon (13)	40. Sundance to Spearfish Marathon (34)
16. Grandma’s Marathon (18)	41. Tobacco Road Marathon (37)
17. REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon (5)	42. Spring Chance BQ.2 Marathon (49)
18. Tunnel Vision Marathon (9)	43. Tucson Marathon (38)
19. Bayshore Marathon (19)	44. Utah Valley Marathon (NR)
20. Erie Marathon (12)	45. Rogue Marathon (41)
21. Carmel Marathon (20)	46. Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon (25)
22. Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon (Illinois) (27)	47. The Woodlands Marathon (NR)
23. Hawaii Bird Conservation Marathon (NR)	48. North Central Rail Trail Marathon (NR)
24. St. George Marathon (22)	49. New England Green River Marathon (43)
25. Santa Rosa Marathon (NR)	50. Charlevoix Marathon (NR)

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More Resources

Want to view which marathons have the highest percentage or most Boston Marathon Qualifiers?
Highest Percentage of Boston Qualifiers (2023)

Number and Percentage of Runners who have Qualified for the 2025 Boston Marathon.
Number and Percentage of Runners who have Qualified for the 2024 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 2023 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.