Jersey shore marathon in April. Extremely flat. Max elevation change is less than 20 feet (an overpass over a single lane at about mile 9). temps typically in the low to mid 50's. Generally a cross wind coming off the ocean, which is blocked for most of the first half by a sea wall. Drawback is that it requires winter training.

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Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (James Bryant Conant)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (Doug Stern)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (William Shakespeare)

I don't think downhill courses are necessarily fast - Boston is mostly downhill, but I rarely hear that called a fast course.

I would not consider Boston "mostly downhill"; there are some very large hills and the total elevation drops is only a couple hundred feet. The downhills there are not particularly "useful" downhill, in that you can't run faster without a high penalty paid for beating you up. It beats you up early on and then kills you with the hills. I'm sorry you had to be there for 2004. My only Boston and easily my worst marathon memory ever. I hit 10 miles with ridiculously low heart race, running sub-6 min pace and then by 12 miles my legs were tightening up badly from the downhill. By 15 I could barely run. I ran a lot of hills in training, but to run that Boston course you have to run downhill pretty fast to simulate the quad strength needed.

I have also run St. George and again would tell you that the downhill is deceivingly hard to master. I ran through 20 miles in 2:02 and then shuffled down the last six miles into town with thighs that were tight and hard as a rock. If you have the quad strength to withstand the pounding you can run very fast there, but it’s not “free speed” without a lot of specific preparation.

Chad

Disney is dead flat, save for the occasional on-ramp to an overpass. 6AM start means you still have the rest of the day to visit the parks, plus it's a good way to combine a race with a vacation. Cape Cod Marathon is a surprisingly fast course even though the second half has rolling hills. It's a very scenic course as well.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

I think Detroit is a fairly fast course. The two "hills" are the Ambassador Bridge and the Tunnel under the Detroit River, but both are fairly mild. Other than that the course is very flat. Less fan support than Chicago, but that's because there's a lot less bodies on the course, which is a big plus if you want to run fast. There are aid stations every mile, which is really nice, and very good volunteer support.

Although it pains me to say it as my wife and I have 4 degrees from the University of Michigan between us, the Columbus course is also very flat and very fast.

Both Columbus and Detroit are flatter and faster than Philly although I have PRed on the Philly course.

I'm volunteering at the finish line! See you there AmyCO!

Cam

Chicago has to be one of the fastest and the spectators line the whole course to motivate you the whole way. Have to get a seeded number there to stay out of the traffic though. Stay on the carpet across the bridges too

Bank of Amercia (Gasparilla in Tampa) is great course, Gulf Shores in Clearwater beach, Shamrock in Va Beach is a good course - great time of year (March) and tons of free beer! Miami in January.

Good luck - if you qualify make sure you add a lot of hills into your workout - as others have said Boston beats you up down hill at the start and tears you up up hill in the middle.

thanks...i haven't run a standalone marathon in a couple of years but think i will need to shave off approximately 10-15 minutes off what I think i can do today before i qualify.

"Last Chance for Boston" in Columbus, Ohio. 1 mile loop, dead flat. Held in February. See Premier Sports for details.

So many races have been mentioned, some point to point with a net downhill, but are all qualifiers for Boston? Doesn't seem fair to have a downhill race on equal terms with others that are zero net gain courses.

The link below has the qualifying standards for each age group and also includes a list of the most frequently used qualifying races for Boston. It also mentions how the course must be USATF certified for the qualifying time to be accepted.

http://bostonmarathon.org/...athon/Qualifying.asp

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

[reply]Bay State Marathon in Lowell MA. A double loop, net loss and flat. Used by many runners to qualify for Boston. It was going to be me next attempt if I didn't make it at the MArine Corps., but I did!!

Bobo[/reply]

How can loop be a net loss?

How can loop be a net loss?

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There must be an elevator ride at the end of each loop

"I don't think downhill courses are necessarily fast - Boston is mostly downhill, but I rarely hear that called a fast course."

Almost no uphill the whole way. 2500' downhill. Definitely faster than boston



http://http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/...levationmaplarge.gif

"St. George- 2500+ft downhill, pretty consistant downhill too. Great race."

St. George is net downhill of about 2500 ft. However, it is not consistant at all. It's closer to 3700 ft downhill and 1200 ft uphill.

Fort Collins Old Town Marathon in Colorado is all downhill. Net loss of over 1100 ft. Net loss every mile. I haven't run it yet, but I plan to next year.

Don