Lists
Race lists
Ready-made shortlists of races, each built for one goal: a Boston qualifier, a first marathon, a cool and flat course for a PR, a new state on a holiday, or the biggest race in every state.
All lists
- 50 races Top 50 Boston Qualifying Races FindMyMarathon’s 2026 selection, using three years of results plus course and weather factors.
- 50 races Highest BQ Percentages The first 50 races on the 2026 BQ-percentage leaderboard. Small and selective fields are included.
- 24 races Flat Boston Qualifiers Flat and mostly flat courses from the Top 50, keeping their original source ranks.
- 3 races U.S. Marathon Majors Three iconic U.S. stops on the World Marathon Majors journey.
- 3 races Coastal Marathons Ocean and Great Lakes shores worth building a race trip around.
- 10 races Bucket-List Marathons Races runners plan a year around: a Major, a coast road, or a city that shuts down for the start.
- 12 races Scenic Marathons Marathons people run for the view: the Big Sur coast, old-growth redwoods, red-rock canyons, Lake Champlain and Acadia in the fall.
- 15 races Bucket-List Half Marathons Half marathons with something you can only run there: a lap of the Speedway, the Strip at night, a bridge into Canada, a summit.
- 9 races First Marathon Picks Big weekends with crowd support and a course a first marathon can finish, not a qualifier hunt.
- 9 races Courses Runners Chase a PR On Races that show up on fast-course lists because the road is flat or the weather is usually cool.
- 7 races Wine and Harvest Races Races people pick for the town as much as the time: wine country, a harvest weekend, a glass at the end.
- 7 races Holiday Start Lines Races tied to a holiday, not a normal spring or fall weekend.
- 40 races Biggest Marathons The most marathon finishers in the latest year with reported results (2025 / 2026).
- 40 races Flattest Certified Marathons Certified Boston-qualifying courses with the least total climb on file.
- 28 races Biggest Net Drops Point-to-point courses that finish well below where they start. Fast, hard on the quads, and the B.A.A. adjusts Boston qualifying times on the steepest ones.
- 40 races Coolest Race Days Marathons whose typical race-day high is lowest — the conditions distance PRs get set in.
- 40 races Winter Sun Marathons December-to-February marathons with a mild typical race-day high (52–75°F).
- 40 races Ultra Classics Curated races whose main distance is 50K or longer, each with a note on what it is known for.
- 50 races A Turkey Trot in Every State One Thanksgiving Day race (Nov 26, 2026) per state — the biggest field where a count is on file — for a new state on a holiday.
- 46 races National Park Runs Races whose listing names a national park, by state.
- 51 races Every State's Biggest Marathon One marathon per state: the biggest field on file. A ready-made plan for all fifty.
- 40 races Most Generous Time Limits Road marathons that keep the course open 7 hours or more: room to walk, or to take a first marathon slowly.
- 40 races Hilliest Road Marathons The road marathons with the most climbing on file. Plan for a slower day and train on hills.
- 36 races Fall PR Picks September-to-November Boston qualifiers with manageable climbing and a cool typical race day: where fall marathon PRs get set.
- 32 races Spring PR Picks March-to-May Boston qualifiers with manageable climbing and a mild typical race day: a focused spring PR shortlist.
- 33 races Start 2027 in a New State One race on New Year's Day (Jan 1, 2027) per state, the biggest field where a count is on file.
- 34 races Two States, One Weekend A Saturday marathon and a Sunday marathon in a neighboring state, no more than 250 miles apart: two states off the list in one trip.
- 100 races 100 Largest Races in the U.S. Explore America’s biggest timed running events, ranked by 2025 finishers across each race weekend.
- Updated from the catalog The Biggest Race in Every State One race per state at any distance, 5K to marathon: the biggest field on file.
- Updated from the catalog Top 3 PR Races in Every State The three races in each state most likely to give you a PR: flat courses, cool race days and big fields to run with.
How the lists are made
Most lists are built from what RaceRove holds for each race: finisher counts from published results, course profiles with total climb and net drop, time limits, and climate normals for the race date. Each of those lists says what it measured, and it is rebuilt when that data changes.
The three Boston lists are about qualifying: races with strong Boston-qualifying records, the races where the largest share of finishers ran a qualifying time, and the flat courses among them.
The hand-picked lists, such as the U.S. Marathon Majors, coastal marathons, bucket-list races and first-marathon picks, name a few races each and say why every one of them is there.
Two lists, the biggest race in every state and the top three PR races in every state, are worked out from the whole race catalogue when you open them, so they change as new results and field sizes come in.
Using a list
Every list opens in the race finder, where you can search it by race or place, narrow it to one state, sort it, and save the whole list or single races to your plan. Each race has its own page with its next date, distances, registration and course details.