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The top five, every distance

Composite score /100 · FLD field · HST history · CRD credentials · CHR character

1. 1 New York City Marathon New York, NY Nov 2026 Major BQ USATF 100.0/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
2. 2 Chicago Marathon Chicago, IL Oct 2026 Major BQ USATF 94.5/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
3. 3 Boston Marathon Boston, MA Apr 2027 Major BQ USATF 93.3/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
4. 4 Marine Corps Marathon Arlington, VA Oct 2026 BQ USATF 90.8/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
5. 5 Grandma's Marathon Duluth, MN Jun 2027 BQ USATF 87.1/100 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 73.9/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
3. 3 Indy Mini-Marathon Indianapolis, IN May 2027 USATF 71.8/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
4. 4 NYC Half Marathon New York, 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 72.2/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
2. 2 Dipsea Race Mill Valley, CA Jun 2027 68.6/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
3. 3 JFK 50 Mile Boonsboro, MD Nov 2026 65.2/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
4. 4 32nd Annual Turkey Trot 5K Fort Wayne, IN Nov 2026 60.3/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
5. 5 Broken Arrow Skyrace Olympic Valley, CA Jun 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 76.0/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
4. 4 Boston 10K for Women Boston, MA Oct 2026 USATF 65.3/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR
5. 5 49th Annual Manhattan Beach 10K Manhattan Beach, CA Oct 2026 USATF 64.2/100 FLDHSTCRDCHR

Full 10ks rankings →

How the scoring works →

The road ahead

Top-scored races next on the calendar · est. = organizer hasn't announced yet

1. Sep 17 Alpharetta Mayors Corporate Challenge Alpharetta, GA · 52.2/100
2. Sep 18 BMW Performance Classic 2-Mile Run / Walk - 27th Annual Greer, SC · 47.9/100
3. Sep 19 12th Annual Chas Foundation 5K and 1-mile Fun Run/Walk Suffolk, VA · 40.8/100
4. Sep 19 Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark 5K to Wellness Newark, NJ · 46.7/100
5. Sep 19 25th Annual International Race for Research Peabody, MA · 47.0/100
6. Sep 19 17th Annual Joshua's Wish Gold Ribbon 5K Run/Walk & Honor Walk Macon, GA · 46.1/100

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Four doors, same receipts

Chasing a BQ The Boston qualifiers, ranked by what the data says about course and field. Your first half Big, established 13.1s — field size and history do the talking. Dirt over pavement Trail races scored on their own curve, never against the road. Racing all 50 states Every state, every ranked race in it. Plan the map.

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The Rundown

News & analysis from the data desk

Guides · September 15

Racing in the Cold: 102 Winter Races North of the 40th Parallel, and What Changes When You Run One

Nearly four in five of the winter races we can map run south of the Kansas–Nebraska line. The 102 that do not are mostly December 5Ks — and the hardest minutes in every one of them come before the gun.

Guides · September 8

The Best Races in Florida, Ranked — and Why 38 of the Top 42 Are 5Ks

Florida puts more races on our state rankings than any other state in America. Almost all of them are small winter 5Ks, and one Jacksonville race accounts for 44% of everyone who starts them.

Inside the Rankings · September 1

The 25% We Guess At: Inside the Character Column

Character is worth a quarter of a score on BestRaces — when we have actually measured it. For 4,965 of our 5,004 races we have not, and as of today we no longer pretend otherwise. The 1-to-5 scale behind it has also never once been used below a 3.