BQ Race in March, April, or May

You've been reading the TNT propaganda again, haven't you? Have you run R'n'R? Look at the elevation chart, net downhill doesn't mean "no climbing," much less "flat as a pancake." Those two downhills at the start wreaked havoc on my quads.

There were also some heavily cambered stretches when I ran it, took their toll on my knees.

(RnR Elevation.gif)

NOT flat:

Bear...if you can narrow down your question a bit, you'll get better hits.  If weather is the only factor, it's not too hard to find a marathon.  Flat?  How Flat?  Travel distance?  Net downhill?  Windy?  Number of runners?

I also recommend Shamrock, because it's pancake flat (elevation changes of +/- 3 feet).  RW and a friend of mine claim it's very fast, but you have to be willing to run 26 miles of exceptionally flat.  Some people go slower out of boredom...

I was also going to toss out Glass City (Toledo), in early April.  It meets your weather criteria, and it was cited on RW and Marthon Maniacs by multiple people as flat and fast.  Plus, it's only 1000 runners strong, so the crowd factor is low.  I couldn't find an elevation / profile.

Go back and read the OP. I put down the only criteria that matters: pancake flat and cool weather. None of the other stuff matters, nor have I shot down any suggestions that didn't meet other criteria.

If a race director identifies his race as having hills and eight miles of "some difficulty" you can bet it's not flat.

This may or may not fit.  Cleveland May 20th?  Average high temp for that day is 65 (usually high temps are at 3-4pm in the afternoon though) and average low temp is 50 degrees.  Usually the weather in Cleveland in May is cold and crappy.  Although there was a record high 3 years ago (in the 80's), so possible, but not probable.

Hills mostly consist of highway overpasses.  I can't say specifically it is flat as a pancake.  Probably isn't, and while it's been awhile since I have tooled around in downtown Cleveland, I always remember it being flat.  I do know from reading marathon guide that quite a few people mentioned they PR'd there.

One of 'em called it quits at the halfway point, is now weighing the alternatives for the next month or so. The other continued on, only to lock up around Mile 20, finished nearly an hour over his goal.

C'est la vie.

http://www.mississaugamarathon.com/  Not pancake flat, but net downhill.  Doesn't look like quad burners though.  Doesn't really meet your criteria 100% but thought I'd toss it in in case anyone else was looking for a downhiller.

Does any marathon count as a BQ, or do they specifically have to state as much in their advertisement?  I was under the assumption that only certain marathons acted as official BQ events.

Yeah, the seventeen fastest marathons in history were run at Berlin, London and Chicago DESPITE those courses being pancake flat.

I am planning to do the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach on March 18th to get a BQ.  I need a time of 3:50 (F40-44).  I ran my first marathon on Feb. 17th with a time of 3:52:27 (just missing the BQ time).  So I am trying again at the Shamrock.  It is suppose to be very flat (except for one small bridge).  I think the only thing that may be a factor is wind.  I understand it was pretty windy last year.

Good luck to your buddies!