BestRacesEditor’s note, September 2, 2026: This piece counted eight scored races between publication and Thanksgiving. Finisher counts read from RunSignup’s posted results since then have raised that to 248 of the 3,406 races in the same window. The eight below still hold their places at the top; the newcomers rank beneath them on two measured signals, discounted per the methodology.
There are 3,549 races on our calendar between today and the end of November. Eight of them score above our floor.
That is not a knock on the other 3,541. It is a statement about paperwork, and we’ll get to it. But first, the eight — because between now and Thanksgiving, American running stacks up more of its heavyweights than any other stretch of the year.
The eight
| Race | Date | City | Field | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York City Marathon | Nov 1 | New York, NY | 59,000 | 100 |
| Chicago Marathon | Oct 11 | Chicago, IL | 54,000 | 94.5 |
| Marine Corps Marathon | Oct 25 | Arlington, VA | 30,000 | 90.8 |
| Twin Cities Marathon | Oct 4 | Minneapolis, MN | 8,500 | 85.0 |
| Richmond Marathon | Nov 14 | Richmond, VA | 6,200 | 80.7 |
| Philadelphia Marathon | Nov 22 | Philadelphia, PA | 13,000 | 76.3 |
| Leadville Trail 100 | Aug 22 | Leadville, CO | 700 | 70.4 |
| JFK 50 Mile | Nov 21 | Boonsboro, MD | 1,200 | 65.2 |
Combined, they will start 172,600 runners in thirteen weeks.
What the list tells you
The best of the year is still ahead. New York and Chicago are the two highest-scoring races in our entire index — first and second out of 4,869. Four of the national top six run inside this window. The other six races in the top ten (Boston, Grandma’s, Bolder Boulder, Bay to Breakers, Cherry Blossom, Big Sur) are all spring events, and their next editions land in 2027. If you want to run a top-ten American race in this calendar year, there are four chances left.
Every road race on the list is a marathon. Not one half marathon, 10K, or 5K clears the bar this fall. That is partly the distance’s gravity — the marathon is where organizers invest the certification and record-keeping — and partly the documentation gap we wrote about in the 5K blind spot. All six road races here are USATF certified and all six are Boston qualifiers.
The two ultras score on different terms. Leadville and the JFK 50 carry neither USATF certification nor BQ status, because neither mark exists for what they do. They rank anyway, on the trail curve, where field size and history do the work the credential column can’t. The JFK 50 was founded in 1963, making it the oldest race in this group by seven years.
Why only eight
Our composite is 30% field, 20% history, 25% credentials, 25% character. A race with no published field size, no founding year, and no certification on record scores zero on three of four components and lands on the floor — not as a verdict, but as an admission that we don’t know anything about it yet.
Of the 3,549 races running this fall, 3,541 are in that position. Some of them are certainly excellent. We just can’t prove it, and we won’t rank on vibes.
The fix isn’t ours to make alone. Every one of those races has a director who knows the field size and the founding year we’re missing, and claiming a listing is free. It also can’t buy a better rank — the formula has no input for who asked, only for what’s on the record.
Eight races have the receipts this fall. We would very much like next fall’s list to be longer.