Find your next start line.

The top five, every distance

Scores are out of 100. The bars show field size (FLD), history (HST), credentials (CRD) and character (CHR).

1. 1 New York City Marathon New York City, NY Nov 2026 Major BQ USATF 100.0/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
2. 2 Boston Marathon Boston, MA Apr 2027 Major BQ USATF 93.2/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
3. 3 Grandma's Marathon Duluth, MN Jun 2027 BQ USATF 87.3/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
4. 4 Big Sur International Marathon Big Sur, CA Apr 2027 BQ USATF 80.7/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
5. 5 Richmond Marathon Richmond, VA Nov 2026 BQ USATF 80.1/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR

Full marathons rankings →

1. 1 Brooklyn Half Marathon Brooklyn, NY May 2027 USATF 76.3/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
2. 2 Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon Duluth, MN Jun 2027 USATF 73.6/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
3. 3 Indy Mini-Marathon Indianapolis, IN May 2027 USATF 72.1/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
4. 4 NYC Half Marathon New York City, NY Mar 2027 USATF 71.3/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
5. 5 Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half San Diego, CA Jun 2027 USATF 68.1/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR

Full half marathon rankings →

1. 1 Western States 100 Olympic Valley, CA Jun 2027 71.6/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
2. 2 Dipsea Race Mill Valley, CA Jun 2027 68.4/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
3. 3 JFK 50 Mile Boonsboro, MD Nov 2026 64.9/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
4. 4 32nd Annual Turkey Trot 5K Fort Wayne, IN Nov 2026 60.3/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
5. 5 Chuckanut 50K Bellingham, WA Mar 2027 59.4/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR

Full trail race rankings →

1. 1 Bolder Boulder 10K Boulder, CO May 2027 USATF 83.7/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
2. 2 Peachtree Road Race Atlanta, GA Jul 2027 USATF 79.7/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
3. 3 Crescent City Classic 10K New Orleans, LA Mar 2027 USATF 75.7/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
4. 4 44th Annual Providence Saint John's Health Center Brentwood Run Los Angeles, CA May 2027 58.0/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
5. 5 52nd Annual Marigold 10K Winterville, GA May 2027 USATF 57.6/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR

Full 10ks rankings →

How the scoring works →

The road ahead

The next ranked races on the calendar. "Est." means the race hasn't announced its date yet.

1. Oct 31 6th Annual Nacogdoches Dia de Los Muertos: Day of the Dead Fun Run Nacogdoches, TX · 40.3/100
2. Oct 31 Boo Run 5K Flowery Branch, GA · 51.3/100
3. Oct 31 45th Annual Alplaus Runaround Alplaus, NY · 51.6/100
4. Oct 31 3rd Annual Patriot 5K - Halloween Edition Stanhope, NJ · 38.2/100
5. Oct 31 Bertie Spectacular 5K & 1 Mile Windsor, NC · 44.3/100
6. Oct 31 18th Annual Scare Brain Cancer Away 5K Run/Walk East Rochester, NY · 48.1/100

Most races raise their entry fee as race day gets closer, so it pays to sign up early.

Start with your goal

Four ways in

Chasing a BQ The Boston qualifiers, ranked by what the data says about course and field. Your first half Big, established halfs, ranked mostly on field size and history. Dirt over pavement Trail races, scored on their own curve instead of the road formula. Racing all 50 states Every state, every ranked race in it. Plan the map.

Browse by distance

Races near you

One tap to your metro — or browse the full indexes

The Rundown

Race news and analysis by Rich Shea

Guides · October 27

The Drop Bag: What Goes In It for a 50K, and What Changes at 100 Miles

71 races in our index list a 50K and 11 list a hundred-mile footrace. Four put both on the same course, which is the clearest way to see that the two bags solve different problems.

Guides · October 20

The Best Races in North Carolina, Ranked — Where Thanksgiving Takes the Top Four

Twenty-six North Carolina races clear our ranking bar, and the four best all start on Thanksgiving morning. Here is the list, and why no race in the state scores above 56.

Guides · October 13

The Best Races in Texas, Ranked — and Why Only 27 of 327 Make the List

Texas has more upcoming races in our index than any state but Florida, and a smaller share of them ranked than any other big state. Houston leads; here is what holds the rest back.