I am curious to get a list of the fastest marathon courses in the US that also serve as qualifies to Boston. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
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
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.
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.
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/exec/tucson/marathon.htm
Do you have any info on this race or where I can find some?
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)
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Columbus Marathon - Very Flat and fast course.
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!
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.
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/marathon/info_2005.html#FYI
The Jacksonville (FL) Marathon is pancake flat, held in December, and you can qualify for the Boston Marathon on it.
Do you have any info on this race or where I can find some?
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