Rank the Marathons, Hardest to Fastest

The Mount Lemmon marathon near Tucson, Arizona is very similar - an almost completely uphill run, with an elevation change of 6,000 feet.

Roanoke doesn't have those sorts of mountains, so instead the marathon course there ascends and descends repeatedly to/from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

driske wrote:

Pikes Peak; Toughest

Toss up between NYC/Boston for a "moderate" road course that can be rougher than anticipated.

Grandma's beckons the right guy on the right day. This point to point course can be very fast, but has been hexed by heat the last several years. I still rate it my personal favorite.

Pikes has gotta be the toughest. The Deseret News & Park City Marathons (Utah) were tough.

Out of 8 in the last 4 yrs, I would have to say my first one. Chicago 07', although I finished and my time counted...I thought it was the most grueling one of them all. Second one, I would have to say the LA marathon due to some humidity, hilly course and wearing the wrong shoes.

As for difficulty courses, NYC and Boston. Easiest Phoenix RnR and Chicago (I hope to see one year--maybe in 2013 what I can REALLY do on that course when the temps are ideal....:)

Also, I think out of the 8 marathons, I had about 3 of them ideal temps. Most of them were warm or it warmed up the second half of the race.

this list includes international marathons but it is the most comprehensive on the web I have found. It is based on how runners times on each course compare to their times at other courses.

http://www.arrs.net/TB_Mara.htm

Brussels Marathon is for me the toughest in Europe, the next one is in autumn: http://www.calendarofmarathons.com/race/brussels-marathons-marathon-de-bruxelles/

I agree that Vermont City is the easiest to PR at. I was able to change clothes somewhere in the race and start in the way back and still tear it up. People doubted me but the race director was cool and didn't dq me.

jeezus you people need to get out of the east coast more

VA Runner wrote:

Haven't done it personally, but include the Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke, VA with toughest:

http://blueridgemarathon.com/

3620 feet of elevation gain and 7234 feet of total elevation change

Fort Collins aka the Colorado Marathon is all downhill and pretty fast, if you're into that sort of thing....

Plus you can buy some super dank for the post race. #winning.

My experience, with many of the races run multiple times.

Total feet climbed was the most reliable predictor of course difficulty.

Hard: Pittsburgh

Flying Pig

Boston

Moderate: Cleveland

Toledo(bad wind problems)

Philly(hillier than advertised)

Fast: Columbus,

Athens(ohio univ.)

Buffalo(hot?)

Rocket City(wind?)

Smoking: Chicago

old Austin course

Hamburg Germany

My marathon experiences:

Easiest to hardest:

1. Western States aka Culver City (3:10:??) = pancake flat w/ one short hill at 15 miles

2. Santa Monica (3:15:??) = two loops of a flat/rolling course

3. Palos Verdes (revised course)(2:53:??)

4. Gales Creek, OR (2:51.19) = a few decent rolling hills

5. Palos Verdes (old course) (3:17:??) = hilly

nj wrote:

this list includes international marathons but it is the most comprehensive on the web I have found. It is based on how runners times on each course compare to their times at other courses.

http://www.arrs.net/TB_Mara.htm

You can also look at which races had the "Most Boston qualifiers".

Somebody said "Seafair" but the actual Seattle Marathon, just run last weekend and won by man's man Uli Steidl, is a much tougher course. Plus, since its run on T-Day weekend, the weather usually sucks.

Eugene isn't too bad. Couple mild hills but mostly flat.

Newport (OR) is very flat, but sort of boring, with no crowds at all and not much speed in the front.

Hardest: flying pig

Easiest: Steamtown

hamburglar wrote:

Columbus Marathon-2:40:40-very flat course, had a nice pack to go with

Chicago-2:49:25-Did not deserve a sub 3, makes Columbus look hilly

Boston-2:50:35-Thought I was in shape for a sub 2:38, could not find a pack, dealt with 15mph headwind on own.

Conditions in Boston affected the performance a lot, Chicago being a super easy course affected that time a lot.

_______________________

The question is about courses. You talk about YOU!

My experience has been:

Easiest

1. CIM

2. Steamtown

3. Ojai

4. Hamilton

Hardest

1. Calgary

2. Colfax

3. Atlanta

4. Flying Pig

Surprised no one mentioned Whiskey Row Marathon in Prescott AZ. Only 150 runners cross the finish line a year. Net elevation change 6600'.

The course starts in downtown Prescott at an oxygen depleted 5300' and climbs to 7000' the first nine miles, then descends to 5950' at the 13.1 mile turn around and heads back in to town.

Oh by the way the weather can range from the 30's and snow to sunny and 70'.

You can compare marathons from a database and results on:

Findmymarathon.com

Go to the 'marathon converter' on the tabs and pick a few to compare.

According to that site, CIM will produce the fastest times.

Master baiter wrote:

You all forget the hardest of the all. Yonkers.

John Kelly (The younger) still has the course record - 2:21

No one even wants to try and beat it. It has over 15 hills. All are very steep and very long.

By the way, in 1960 John Kelley won Yonkers in 2:20:13.

Another hilly race is Marathon to Athens.

hardest to fastest

Boston - 2:42 - best shape but the downhills wreaked my quads

Detroit - 2:56 - bridge and tunnel, tough - first marathon

Toledo - 2:41 and 2:44 - flat but lack of competition and fan support

Columbus - 3:08 - flat, (time doesn't reflect the course,I had some issues)

Chicago - 2:41 - flat and people to run with

Yeah my rankings don't follow my times...