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The Glass City Marathon course is a fast, flat, scenic tour of some of Toledo's most beautiful neighborhoods. The majority of the race is run on paved asphalt bike trail and concrete streets.
The flat course, coupled with favorable race day temperatures, can make the Glass City Marathon a very good prospect for a PR or BQ (Boston Qualifier).
The Glass City Marathon was the 62nd largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 60th largest in 2023.
This year 24.6% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 16.1% of runners qualified for Boston in 2024.
This gives the Glass City Marathon the 80th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 9th highest percentage so far in 2025.
Its Course Score of 99.09 ranks it as the 190th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 5th fastest course in Ohio.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are within the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Glass City Marathon a PR Score of 99.09. This PR Score ranks it as the 142nd fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 5th fastest in Ohio.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Glass City Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 680 feet (207m) Min Elevation: 582 feet (177m)
I liked that much of the running was on trails through the park system. It was a very fun/fast run.
Race Tips
Gentle rolling hills through the neighborhoods. Most of my training was on bike trail which is fine for Columbus and Houston but some more gentle hill training may have helped but I did BQ.
Parking lot at Dorr/Douglas was easy to find and leave when done.
DT's review of 2024 Glass City Marathon.
4 /
5 Stars
Review
I loved the course and the support, while not huge, was enthusiastic. People came out in the residential neighborhoods to tailgate and provided us with extra fuel and drink (the ice cold bottles some offered were heaven-sent). It's really flat, but there's one little, steep elevation one has to do twice that can be soul-crushing the second time. Organization was great. Gear check could have been more clearly announced. Post-race food was meh. After the half runners had gone through, all that was left was cold pizza, chips, and a cookie. I'd have loved a banana and more drink options! It was either water or alcoholic beer (I love my beer, but after a marathon prefer non-alcoholic versions).
Expo was a little sparse. Almost no free samples, though they did have everything I needed to prep for the race.
Race Tips
You can't really plan for good weather. The past few years, it's been on and off with perfect race conditions one year and terrible the next. That being said, it's a great course when the weather is good!
Parking is great. There are maps sent out about where to park based on when you'd like to leave by. It can mean a bit of walking (maybe 1km?), but that's always kind of good after a marathon.
Anonymous's review of 2024 Glass City Marathon.
3 /
5 Stars
Review
Expo was good. Course was beautiful and flat. Post race there were dixie cups w warm water until you walked out of the stadium across the parking lot where there were bags of lays chips, cookies and pizza. No fruit whatsoever. No food trucks. No chocolate milk. No electrolyte drinks.
Race Tips
Have your friends and family bring post race nutrition/recovery drinks.
