Rank the Marathons, Hardest to Fastest

Bump for cool thread.

Master baiter wrote:

You all forget the hardest of the all. Yonkers...All are very steep and very long.

Guys, Yonkers course has changed since the John Kelly days, several times in fact. The current 2 loop course sucks but it is not that terrible. There is one long and one moderate hill you do twice, but it is not that bad.

FINAL ANSWER

Grandma's

Boston

Twin Cities

New York

Las Vegas

Toronto (Waterfront)

Chicago

London

Berlin

Rotterdam

I've only done five marathons but this is my list from hardest to easiest.

1. Big Sur, CA. Most enjoyable.

2. Freedom Run, WV. If you start out fast the hills at the end will beat you down.

3. Marine Corps, DC. Best organized.

4. Avenue of the Giants, CA. The scenary makes you forget you're running.

5. Napa Valley, CA. Great point to point course.

Can we leave out trail marathons in the "hardest" category? There are several that are just "stupid hard", i.e. "let's see who can stumble up a mountain for 26.2 miles the fastest." What about hard ROAD marathons?

Also can anyone expand on the story of Yonkers? I have read some stuff about running "back in the day" and it seemed like when guys like Buddy Edelen were running, Yonkers was THE marathon to run. Now it's not even news. Why the fall?

sfdafdads wrote:

Can we leave out trail marathons in the "hardest" category? There are several that are just "stupid hard", i.e. "let's see who can stumble up a mountain for 26.2 miles the fastest." What about hard ROAD marathons?

Also can anyone expand on the story of Yonkers? I have read some stuff about running "back in the day" and it seemed like when guys like Buddy Edelen were running, Yonkers was THE marathon to run. Now it's not even news. Why the fall?

From a magazine article reprinted on the website (http://theyonkersmarathon.com/history):

. . . Over its 78-year history, this legendary marathon has dwindled from a high of 800 at the 50th anniversary in 1986 to 81 finishers (68 male, 13 female) in 2003. Even though the course has been changed four times to eliminate some hills and traffic congestion and the noon start has changed to 8:00 A.M., it can’t seem to recoup its glory days. According to August (Augie) Cambria, City of Yonkers Deputy Commissioner of Parks and a race director along with Mitch Tutoni, City of Yonkers Commissioner of Parks, a number of elements work against Yonkers. “People hear it is a tough course and not one to get your personal-best time. The Yonkers Half-Marathon is more popular than the full marathon. Probably the biggest factor in the drop of attendance is our bigger cousin, the ING New York City Marathon,” says Cambria. “Yonkers is not for everyone, but that is part of its mystique and history.”

. . .

Attendance started to dwindle for Yonkers in the ’80s, right around the time of the first running boom when race directors across the country were planting marathons in cities across America like rows of sweet corn. As a lure, in 1985 Yonkers offered prize money to the top three male and female runners. It didn’t do much. The following year, 1986, a cash award of $10,000 was offered to anyone who could break Kelley’s course record of 2:20:13. As a further enticement, anyone who ran Yonkers that year was guar­anteed entry into the New York City Marathon. The late Fred Lebow, then race director of the New York City Marathon, was a fan of Yonkers and had run it a few times. A true marathoner at heart and a traditionalist, he didn’t want to see Yonkers founder. Andy Kimerling, then race director, was hoping for 1,000 run­ners at the start that year, enticed by the siren’s song of money and the chance to get into the popular marathon a few miles down the road. Eight hundred showed up for the uphill start, but attendance has been downhill since.

The neighbor to the north, Dutchess County, also holds a marathon and half-marathon on the same day, and its course is described as charming and flat. With so many other marathons to choose from, why would someone want to struggle through Yonkers? . . .

Equinox Marathon up in Alaska is a tough one.

Anybody remember the old Maryland marathon? The one that Ron hill won a few times. That race was ridiculously hard and competitive. Tough course but something like 300 people would run sub 240. Maryland dropped the ball by canceling that for 10+ years.

Chuckster: This year I've done both Boston and San Francisco; I found San Fran to be significantly more difficult than Boston. The up and downhills are WAY more steep, although at least at San Fran the last 5 miles are flat, and it's much, much more scenic than Boston. Another great thing about San Fran is that you can count on the weather being cool and cloudy; perfect for a summer marathon (or any marathon). Here are my rankings:

HARDEST:

11) San Francisco

10) Calgary

9) Vancouver

MEDIUM:

8) New York

7) Boston

FAST:

6) CIM

5) Toronto Waterfront

4) Wineglass

FASTEST:

3) Chicago

2) Phoenix (RnR AZ)

1) Edmonton

10 marathons on 6 courses.

Hardest - OKC

Easiest - houston

I was misled into doing Freedom's Run by this thread. Definitely not an easy course by any measure.

Manchester City Marathon in New Hampshire is pretty tough. Rolling hills pretty much the whole way. I ran 10 minutes off my other two marathons there (2:31/2:32 vs. 2:42) with substantially similar training.

The Seafair Marathon near Seattle is just crazy with hills, the worst both in terms of quantity and quality. The old Yonkers course was actually easier. The easiest marathons are Last Chance for Boston (26 laps around a flat parking lot) and Avenue of the Giants (great scenery).

Just got home from Wineglass in Corning NY. A net downhill of ~200 feet makes it fast. Some twists and turns in the last 5 miles and cracked uneven pavement in spots was a pain, but it is definitely fast.

Toronto (the one now in May) is also fast.

There is an old book (before internet) that was basically like marathonguide.com (authored by Rich Hanna??). I will look for it. (by the same publisher as "Marathon and Beyond") It ranked courses fast - slow, scenic, value... etc.

Hardest: The Olympic Marathon (I hear that it is tougher to get into this one than boston)!

Easiest: Your Mom

Just finished the Amica Marathon in Newport and felt it was difficult. Figured out that 52 out of 822(7%) would qualify for Boston 2012 and only 38 (4.5%)would make Boston 2013. I found the Manchester NH marathon the be easier even though it is considered challenging. I have done Boston twice, but have been awful due to training injuries

A few I ran are no longer around, but here is my list hardest to easiest:

--NYC

--Green Mountain (South Hero, VT)

--Boston

--Boston Peace (point to point, north to south, finished up the hill next to the Common then into Govt Center)

--Brandon, FL

--BCBS of Rhode Island

--Vermont City

--Mohawk Hudson

NYC I ran on the old course that went into Central Park earlier. Vermont City I ran the original course as well as the current course (or close to the current course anyway). The original course was harder, you had a 100' climb the last mile.

I rank Mohawk Hudson easiest because comparing my finish time to my fitness level and races leading up to it, that's the one marathon I had a performance that surprised me. I was about 5:00 faster than I expected to be.

Ben B. wrote:

Hardest: The Olympic Marathon (I hear that it is tougher to get into this one than boston)!

Easiest: Your Mom

Thanks for your input Ben.

Baltimore has some wicked hills and thank God you run that thing in the morning when all the crack heads are getting ready to go to sleep or still sleeping. Some shady spots on that course.

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