Montgomery County (MD) marathon in the parks is small (about 2000 when I did it a few years ago) and has a net elevation loss of a few hundred feet. No substantial uphills save one or two around the halfway mark. Boston qualifier.

Josef

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Josef
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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

Hartford, CT. Mid October. Course is out and back, mostly flat with some rolling hills.

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Tough times don't last, tough people do ;-)
Francois.

Austin and St. George (in Utah) are both net downhill and reputed to be fast; but both have rolling hills, so the feedback is always mixed as to how fast they really are. Houston is dead flat. My favorite marathon site is marathonguide.com -- lots of good race feedback and info.

Chicago, California International, Avenue of the Giants/Humboldt Redwoods...the 3 fastest courses I've run.

CIM has weather issues and you can get a nasty storm which may mess up your race.

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"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

My guess would be Tucson. Point-to-point wth ~2000ft drop in elevation. Be prepared for downhill running (although the average grade is not that steep).
http://www.tucsonmarathon.com/.../tucson/marathon.htm

Do you have any info on this race or where I can find some?

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Portside Athletics Blog

I old Las Vegas Marathon course was a fast one, I'm not to sure about the new course.

Dave in VA

Tucson with its slightly downhill point to point course. I know a couple people who qualified for Boston there with significant PB's

Gasparilla marathon - tampa in february - like a pancake. Austin - 1st 1/2 is downhill 2nd 1/2 is flat.

Huntsville Alabama - Rocket City (December)

Columbus Marathon - Very Flat and fast course.

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http://cmkracing.blogspot.com

Steamtown Marathon, Scranton, PA

http://www.steamtownmarathon.com/

Got my 1st BQ there in 2004, 955' net elevation drop. Very well supported medium sized marathon. Well organized, highly recommended!

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"Knowledge is good" - Emil Faber

St. George- 2500+ft downhill, pretty consistant downhill too. Great race. You need to practice running downhill though, otherwise you quads will hurt for a month. They have a lottery to get in, you have to sign up in the spring.



http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/race/courseinfo.php

The Erie Marathon. Total elevation change is 12 feet! That's the total change from start to finish...not net change, so this is about as flat as you can get. The entire course is run is a state park that jets out into Lake Erie, and 3/4 of the course is shaded.

The price for this is only $50 (40 is you sign up a month ahead) and the race shirt is technical wear.

Check it out....http://www.erie-runnersclub.org/...n/info_2005.html#FYI

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Dan
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póg mo thóin

The Jacksonville (FL) Marathon is pancake flat, held in December, and you can qualify for the Boston Marathon on it.

Marathon in the Parks has been replaced this year by the Rock Creek Marathon. Race is put on by the Montgomery County Road Runners.

The old New Orleans/Mardi Gras marathon course was pretty much pancake flat and with the exception of a highway overpass you went over twice, entirely below sea level. The revised course for 2006 should be pretty much the same in terms of flatness.

Generally good running weather in LA in late February- start in the low 40s, and get up to the low 60s with very manageable humidity.

The Austin Marathon just revamped their course, taking out some of the hills at the end, plus the segment east of the interstate which had few spectators.

Elevation profile here:
http://www.freescaleaustinmarathon.com/elevation02.pdf

I have been curious for awhile to try this marathon, the Tri-State marathon.

It starts in Utah, crosses through Arizona, and ends in Mesquite, Nevada. Dropping an insane amount of elevation, but mostly in the first half. I'm not sure if they are going to have it next year, as the site is not yet updated.

It looks like it could be a very fast marathon. but comments in marathonguide.com indicate that it really is not as fast as one would think. I guess the first part of the race is a far steeper descent than what would be ideal

http://www.tristatemarathon.com/

Has anyone raced this one?

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Kicking butt and writing down people's names since 2001

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

I would vote for the Phila marathon. Almost completely flat, just a couple of short, not too steep hills. Also, heat will never be an issue in Philadelphia in November. I would likely have a problem at a warm weather marathon between October and June because I've lost my acclimation to heat. In fact, Boston in 2004 is proof of that. It was 80-85 degrees, which wouldn't be a problem for me in August, but it sure was in April.

Thanks; we'll see how it goes -- I'm set to run it Feb. 19!!

just checked their web site-

no race this year, just a half next. Bummer, it was cheap too ($35).

EDIT: but there is another mary in RC park which, based on the support of the other race, I'd recommend you look into. nice and low key. not sure if it's a qualifier tho.

http://www.marathonintheparks.com/

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Josef
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Having run both Steamtown and Philly, Steamtown is 3-4 minutes faster IF you are prepared for downhill running. You simply don't have to put out the same effort to maintain an equivalent pace on a mild downhill. Boston is only downhill for the 1st 15 miles or so, the series of hills in the 2nd half of the rest is what kills people. There is a reason that courses with significant net downhill are inelgible for World Records.

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"Knowledge is good" - Emil Faber