Best Boston Marathon Qualifiers for 2026

Best Boston Marathon Qualifiers

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Edmonton Marathon

Edmonton, AB
Sunday, August 16, 2026


  4 Stars from 1 Reviews

Course Description

The Edmonton Marathon is a flat and fast urban road course that highlights Alberta’s capital city. Serving as an official Boston Marathon Qualifier, it features minimal elevation changes, maintaining a total gain and loss of only about 500 feet.

The out-and-back course takes place entirely on fully paved municipal streets, avenues, and parkways. The race starts and finishes in front of the Edmonton Convention Centre on historic Jasper Avenue.

The route stays on the upper plateau, completely avoiding any steep descents or climbs into the deep river valley itself, though it provides expansive, open views overlooking the North Saskatchewan River. The metropolitan route attracts vibrant community support, bringing out over 15,000 spectators and more than 400 volunteers to line the residential gates and cheering zones.

A smart pacing strategy centers on locking into an even immediately from the opening mile to capitalize on the mostly flat topography. Because the course lacks significant hills or rolling sections, goal success depends on managing a steady effort through the long, open stretches.


August Other Marathons in August Other Marathons in Alberta Marathons near Edmonton, AB



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Race Information

Race Dates

2027: TBD
2026: Sunday, August 16, 2026

Course Information

Profile: Mostly Flat
Type: Out and Back
Surface: Road/Pavement

Boston Qualifier?: Yes
World Marathon Major Qualifier?: Yes

Race Day Weather

Mean Temp.: 52°F (11°C)
Average High: 64°F (17°C)
Average Low: 40° F (4°C)




PR Score & Course Score

PR Score: 98.43
Course Score: 98.93

Race Size

2026: 1,545 Finishers
2025: 1,296 Finishers
2024: 1,156 Finishers
2023: 769 Finishers
2022: 550 Finishers
2021: No Results

BQ Percentages

2026: 5.6%
2025: 7%
2024: 6.6%
2023: 10.8%
2022: 10.9%
2021: N/A

Miscellaneous Information

Pace Groups?: Yes

Weather Averages for Last 12 Years


Race Day Temperatures

High: 73°F  (23°C)
Low: 50°F  (10°C)

Race Start Conditions

53°F  (12°C)
Humidity: 85%

Clear
W 5 mph

PR Score

97.68

Course Score

98.97






Edmonton Marathon Rankings, Course Speed & Boston Qualifier Statistics

The Edmonton Marathon was the 7th largest marathon in Canada in 2025 based on the number of finishers. In 2024, it ranked as the 9th largest marathon in Canada.

In 2026, 5.6% of Edmonton Marathon finishers have achieved Boston Marathon qualifying times. In 2025, 7% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon.

Based on its percentage of Boston Qualifiers (BQs), the Edmonton Marathon ranked 17th among marathons in Canada in 2025 and currently ranks 9th so far in 2026. In Alberta, it ranked 2nd in 2025 and 1st so far in 2026. These rankings provide a useful benchmark for comparing the Edmonton Marathon with other Boston Marathon qualifying races.

The Edmonton Marathon has a Course Score of 98.93, ranking it as the 15th fastest marathon course in Canada and the 1st fastest marathon course in Alberta.

Typical race-time temperature and humidity levels are slightly above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. Combined with the course profile, this gives the Edmonton Marathon a PR Score of 98.43. The PR Score ranks the Edmonton Marathon as the 20th best marathon in Canada for running a Personal Record (PR) and the 1st best marathon for a PR in Alberta.

Together, these rankings provide a quick snapshot of how the Edmonton Marathon compares with other marathons in Canada and Alberta for speed, PR potential, Boston Marathon qualifying success, and overall participation.

Edmonton Marathon Marathon Rankings Summary
Course Speed15th fastest marathon course in Canada
Ranked 1st fastest marathon course in Alberta
Top 47% Nationally#1 of 2 in Alberta
PR Potential20th best marathon for a Personal Record in Canada
Ranked 1st best marathon for a PR in Alberta
Top 63% Nationally#1 of 2 in Alberta
Boston Qualifier Rate17th highest BQ percentage in Canada
Ranked 2nd highest BQ percentage in Alberta
Based on 2025 Boston Marathon qualifying results
Top 57% Nationally#2 of 3 in Alberta
Race Size7th largest marathon in Canada
Ranked 2nd largest marathon in Alberta
Based on 2025 results
Top 22% Nationally#2 of 4 in Alberta

Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.



Elevation Chart


Max Elevation: 2209 feet (673m)
Min Elevation: 2106 feet (642m)

Elevation Gain: 505 feet (153m)
Elevation Loss: 505 feet (153m)


Edmonton

Course updated 06/11/2026




Hotel & VRBO Accommodations for the Edmonton Marathon

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Compare the Edmonton Marathon to other Marathons

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Compare the details of the Edmonton Marathon side-by-side with other marathons with our Comparison Tool.


Comparison Tool

If you ran the Edmonton Marathon in 4:26:00, what would your time in other marathons be?

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Race Reviews


4.0
Based on 1 reviews
Write Your Own Review

Full Review:

Beside being a generally nice race, in In my opinion the Edmonton Marathon is a very good race for people that want to qualify for Boston and need to do it August. The course is mostly flat, the race was well organized and prices are very reasonable compared to some other last minute qualifying races. Also the temperatures are acceptable and in my opinion it is hard to find a race with better temperatures in August. If I would need a fast race in August, I would go again to Edmonton.

Race Tips:

Basically you run two half marathons. Each out and back. Hence I would divide the course in quarters. The course is flat, but not completely. The first quarter feels like a slight downhill, hence the second is a slight uphill. The second half is mostly flat. But be prepared for a short uphill just after the second turnaround that feels hard as you are 3 quarters in a marathon.

Pacing strategy: I like running negative splits but that seems to be difficult in Edmonton: The slight downhill on the first quarter is good for faster splits at equal effort. You will lose some of the time gained during the second quarter.

Raising temperatures during the 3 and 4th quarter may impact you. As well you have to overtake slower runners from the half marathon. In my opinion plan for an equal paced race or positive split.

The course is very clearly marked. But bring a GPS watch! I was missing most of the km/mi markers.

Waterstations: The only real thing that was negative in my point of view was the number of water stations. I would have wished for two additional water stations. I had a throw away bottle with 700ml with me that did rescue me as I was well hydrated for the 2nd half.

Travel/Logistics Tips:

Host Hotels: Nice and very close to the start line. Reasonable prices that included breakfast and parking. Parking is ~25$ otherwise. Restrooms, bag drop etc. are in the Shaw Conference Center next to the Start/Finish.
Reviewed by CS About 2016