- 3M Half-Marathon, Austin, TX
- 500 Festival Mini Marathon, Indianapolis, IN
- America's Finest City Half Marathon, San Diego, CA
- Atlanta Half Marathon, Atlanta, GA
- Caesar Rodney Half-Marathon,Wilmington, DE
- Canyonlands Half Marathon , Moab, Utah
- Chicago Half-Marathon, Chicago, IL
- Colonial Half-Marathon, Williamsburg, VA
- Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon, Duluth, MN
- Georgietown to Idaho Springs, Englewood, CO
- Grete's Great Gallop, New York
- The Home Depot San Francisco Half-Marathon & 5K
- Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville, Ky
- Kiawah Island Half Marathon, Kiawah Island, SC
- La Jolla Half-Marathon, La Jolla, CA
- Manhattan Half Marathon, New York
- March Madness Half Marathon, Cary, IL
- Naples Daily News Half-Marathon, Naples, FL
- New Bedford Half Marathon, Dartmouth, MA
- Parkersburg Half-Marathon, Parkersburg , WV
- Philadelphia Festival of Races, Philadelphia, PA
- Race to Robie Creek, Boise, ID
- Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon, Virginia Beach, VA
- Seattle Half Marathon, Seattle, WA
- Walt Disney World Half-Marathon, Orlando, FL
For those who also run marathons:
We've competed in many of the best marathons in the world since 1994. We know great races, and these are our Top 50:
We've competed in many of the best marathons in the world since 1994. We know great races, and these are our Top 50:
Also see our Top 25 Toughest Marathons, Marathon Training and Racing section, and our complete coverage of Chicago, Boston and New York City marathons.
Among the most popular marathons, which ones are Hardest/Toughest? Which ones are Fastest/Easiest?
New for the 2011-2012 marathon season: we've analyzed 75 of the top marathons in North America -- with 330,000 finishers and 50,000 Boston Qualifiers -- to determine which ones are the biggest, toughest, fastest, and more.
Beyond the numbers, we've got personal experience, having competed in many of the marathons listed here, a total of 85 marathons overall, to add credibility to the rankings.
Toughest: Boston is toughest of our top 25, but with a deceptively fastest overall time, being exclusive to the qualified marathoners. Among marathons open to all runners, Los Angeles, Disney World, Portland (Oregon), RnR San Diego and Marine Corps are most challenging, based on average finish times.
Noteworthy: Chicago's 4:43 in 2010 ranked it 6th toughest overall. For more, see our detailed analysis of Chicago Finish Times by Age Group.
Easiest: There is no such thing as an easy marathon. 26.2 miles is 26.2 miles, and competing in one is an awesome undertaking and an extraordinary achievement. But when it comes to faster marathon courses, Hamilton, Bay State, Pocono Mountain, Sugarloaf and Hudson River top the list.
And yes, we know very well that there are many, many smaller marathons not on this list that are wicked hard. We limited the analysis to these races, representing hundreds of thousands of finishers. For more see our Complete Marathon Coverage, and more detailed analysis, below.
Predicting your full marathon time based on your best half marathon: Marine Corps Marathon example.
Average finish times by Age Group: New York Marathon example.
Average finish time by Age, year-by-year: PF Chang's Arizona Marathon example.
Impact of Weather on Average Race Results: Boston Marathon Example.
And more . . .
