Best Boston Qualifiers

I have better knowledge of the Midwest ones...

• Columbus, OH - not as flat as Chicago, but less crowded 
• Detroit
• Indianapolis Monumental (new this year  - I'll let you know after 11/1/08)
• Milwaukee, WI
• Grand Rapids, MI (my 2009 BQ target)

Chicago now has corrals which should help a ton.  Plus "wrming up" with a slightly slower pace for the first 2-3 miles really isn't that bad of a strategy, forced or not...

Yep, this one is nice, and they split it between the 1/2 and the full, and then had two waves of each that went to help spread things out.  It's in mid-January--which is usually fairly decent weather--could be a little rainy, but rarely WAY cold.  But if you want to run it, sign up QUICK when it opens, this year it sold out in something crazy like June...

I have a friend who BQ'd at the PF Chang's Rock n Roll Mary in Arizona...it's also in Jan.

Statistically, both CIM and Tucson are pretty high on the list. (Both run in the first week of December) Both of these races also had a pretty high number of OlyQ Women last year as well.  But: Tucson changed their course a bit last year and is not as fast as it once was. (It now includes a few mid-course hills)

Each of these races is a pretty good net downhill but they both also contain a few sucker punches that will wreck your race if your not careful. I have heard St. Charles also has a similar race profile and success rate.

If your looking for flat: Long Beach is pretty darn flat but suprisingly does not yield as many BQ times as you would expect. Wineglass, Napa, Grandmas, TCM and Philly seem to provide some good results.

But, if your looking for a really great super secret race to run a BQ at that is small, very well run and right in your area, let me know and I will tell you

Best of all, this race is right after the deadline and so a BQ here is good for 2 years.

Of course I want to know! But then it won't be super secret anymore When is the deadline, in the fall or spring? There is a small marathon in NJ that a few people I know qualified in, but I'm not sure if that was just cooincidence or if the race is good for it.

This has some ways to look at it:

http://www.marathonguide.com/races/BostonMarathonQualifyingRaces.cfm

In reasonable distance from you, I would mention Philly, Steamtown, Hartford, Harrisburg and, as earlier mentioned, Rehoboth is likely to be a flat, fast course (though near the beach it could be windy on any given day).

Yeah, but it's and RnR.  I despise Elite Racing. 

PM on the way. (If I told everyone, it would not be the best little race in the area now would it)

Oh, the deadline is in September just before this race. (meaning that the race is the first weekend that a BQ would count for 2 years)

Can't believe no one has said Chicago ..... it supposedly really fast.

I like the NCR Trail marathon here in Maryland as it is mostly flat other than the first/last two miles.  It is also fairly low key and late in the year so nice and cool (late November).  It's where I set my PR and first BQ.

Tucson Marathon, point-to-point with 2000ft elevation drop.

This year it is December 7.

If you are willing to wait for the Spring and travel, Green Bay is a great one.  It is flat, small and has a low hassle factor (e.g. hotels are plentiful, parking is at Packer stadium and they let you wait inside if it is raining or cold).  Oh and you get to run around the field if that is important to you!

I would concur with Briand that Grand Rapids can be a good one assuming the wind does not play a role.  The last two years have been brutal.

St George Utah, great marathon about 2 hours outside of Vegas in Red Rock country, point to point and elevation drop of 2600 feet with the majority in the last 6 miles, good for negative splits.  Just watch the hill at mile 7 up Veyo (inactive volcano).

The marathon is very well put together and the volunteers are the best!!

Did you just call Lambeau Field "Packer Stadium"?  You may be going to hell!  j/k

LM, you could always just go the charity route.  I know it's not the same.  Good luck that would be so bad a$$ to BQ!

I ran Bayshore Marathon (Traverse City, MI) this past May- it's a good one.  It's not completely flat though- no major hills, but it does have elevation changes.

Flying Pig Marathon (in Cincinatti) is another good one.  There's a long climb in the beginning but if you take it easy it's not that bad.  The rest of the course after that is downhill and flattens out.  I liked this race the best because it had amazing crowd support and aid stations every mile.  I highly recommend this race.

Kiawah Island Marathon (Kiawah, SC) in December is another good one because it's TOTALLY flat.  A bit bland though- no huge crowds and it's a double loop course.  The 2nd loop is just marathoners (since the half marathoners split off after loop 1) and it's pretty quiet on that 2nd loop.

Those are the only 3 that I can think of right now. 

It's the Outerbanks Marathon- it's held sometime in November.

Cincinnati.

Sorry, pet peeve