Race intelligence for runners with a goal

Your fastest marathon isn't always your best Boston qualifier.

Course shape, race-morning weather, the BAA downhill adjustment, entry odds, and your own fitness — folded into one answer about where your goal is most achievable.

Races
40

28 marathons · 12 halves

Verified
37/40

audited July 17, 2026

Race-morning climate
40

22 from NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, 18 from 10 years of Open-Meteo history

What are you training for?

Ranked by how forgiving the course and the race morning are — the two things that decide whether a first race finishes well.

Aramco Houston Half9.7 FIRST-TIMER

USATF Half Champs occasionally. Flat. Cool January.

Date
Jan 17, 2027
Course · +82 ft · 6 ft/mi · no profile
NO PROFILE
Race morning
50→54 °F
Entry
Lottery · $155
Open
CNO Indianapolis Monumental Half9.7 FIRST-TIMER

Pancake flat half paired with the marathon weekend. Open.

Date
Nov 7, 2026
Course · +95 ft · 7 ft/mi · no profile
Race morning
38→42 °F
Entry
Open · $105
Open
Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach9.5 FIRST-TIMER

Flat beachfront course, cool spring weather.

Date
Mar 21, 2027
Course · +49 ft · 2 ft/mi
Race morning
48→56 °F
Entry
Open · $140
Open
Chevron Houston Marathon9.5 FIRST-TIMER

World's flattest major. ~55% lottery accept. Cool Jan weather typical.

Date
Jan 17, 2027
Course · +197 ft · 8 ft/mi
Race morning
47→55 °F
Entry
Lottery · $180
Open
Ameris Bank Jacksonville Marathon9.5 FIRST-TIMER

In-state drivable. Small flat race in December.

Date
Dec 12, 2026
Course · +115 ft · 4 ft/mi
Race morning
50→58 °F
Entry
Open · $120
Open
CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental9.5 FIRST-TIMER

One of the flattest+fastest BQ feeders. Open registration. Cool weather.

Date
Nov 7, 2026
Course · +302 ft · 12 ft/mi
Race morning
44→52 °F
Entry
Open · $140
Open
Detroit Free Press Marathon9.2 FIRST-TIMER

Crosses into Canada. Flat. Open registration.

Date
Oct 18, 2026
Course · +262 ft · 10 ft/mi
Race morning
46→54 °F
Entry
Open · $135
Open
Tokyo Marathon9.1 FIRST-TIMER

World Major. Lottery ~10%. Far travel. Mostly flat.

Date
Mar 7, 2027
Course · +230 ft · 9 ft/mi
Race morning
48→56 °F
Entry
Lottery · $340
Open
Why 40 races, not 4,000

Every race here was checked by a human.

Directories scrape every race they can find and let you sort by date. That is a different product. A race-day date that is quietly a year stale, or an elevation figure copied from a listing nobody checked, doesn't just mislead you — it invalidates every number computed from it, which here is all of them.

So the catalog is deliberately small and audited. 37 of 40 verified at the official source; 3 carry a projected date because the organiser hasn't announced one yet, and say so on their page. It grows when a race has been verified, not when one is found.

How every score is computed →

Find the race that fits your goal.

Browse the catalog free, then connect Strava when you're ready to train.