Below is our annual list of the fastest marathons in the United States and Canada for 2014. Seven of the races also appeared on last year’s list along with three newcomers. New marathons to the list include two races in the Revel series – Canyon City Marathon and Big Cottonwood Marathon – in addition to the Tunnel Lite Marathon.
What makes a marathon fast or slow? We’ve developed an algorithm (Personal Record Score) to measure the relative speed of a marathon course based on several factors based on peer reviewed research as well as our own analysis of hundreds of marathon courses. You can read more about how the algorithm is derived here.
Find out more about each marathon by clicking on the race link.
| Race | Personal Record Score | Boston Qualifiers Percentage |
Median Finish Time |
| Canyon City Marathon Azusa, CA |
110.80 | 22.4% | 4:10:27 |
| Peak to Creek Marathon* Morganton, NC |
106.04 | 26.9% | 3:51:55 |
| Leavenworth Marathon* Leavenworth, WA |
102.80 | 14.4% | 4:18:38 |
| Tunnel Lite Marathon North Bend, WA |
102.53 | 26.8% | 3:59:10 |
| Pocono Mountain Run for the Red Marathon* Stroudsburg, PA |
102.43 | 29.1% | 3:53:35 |
| St. George Marathon* St. George, UT |
101.81 | 16.8% | 4:12:53 |
| Winthrop Marathon* Winthrop, WA |
101.57 | 12.1% | 4:30:25 |
| Steamtown Marathon* Scranton, PA |
101.22 | 19.3% | 4:02:16 |
| Big Cottonwood Marathon Cottonwood, UT |
100.83 | 19.4% | 4:08:55 |
| Tucson Marathon* Tucson, AZ |
100.73 | 14.8% | 4:16:50 |
* Included in Fastest Marathons in 2013
