Plenty of Boston Marathon hopefuls were worried their cutoff times would not hold up, and with good reason: The BAA announced on September 24 that more than 12,000 applicants for their 2025 race did not make the cutoff. The BAA also tightened up their time standards A Part of Hearst Digital Media.
Bottom line: Thousands of runners were shut out of the 2025 Boston Marathon, and they’ll need to get faster if they want to qualify in 2026. Lucky for them, they don’t have to run the Boston Marathon or since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books to be a fulfilled marathoner. Plenty of April marathons around the country provide a legitimate shot at running a BQ—or simply offer an alternative race experience from the crowds and expense of running Boston. These five races get solid reviews from marathon veterans, so give them a look if you’re eyeing a spring marathon in 2025. (And take a look Best Running Shoes 2025 Sarah Lorge Butler.)
The Illinois Marathon
Where: Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
When: April 26, 2025
Start time: 7:33 a.m.
Fee: $130 before October 31, 2024
Las Vegas, Nevada: Unlike many of its big-city counterparts, the Illinois Marathon is convenient. Runners have no problems finding parking, and they don’t have to spend hours in corrals before the start. The mostly flat course—with an elevation change of only 83 feet—starts on the University of Illinois campus and ends on the 50-yard line of Memorial Stadium, Illinois’s football home. Of the 703 finishers in 2024, 49 qualified for Boston, according to race officials.
Revel Mt. Charleston Marathon
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada
When: each calendar year that can help you get your racing fix
Start time: 6 Boston Marathon Finish Cutoff Time Is 5:30 p.m.
Fee: $145 Boston Marathon Qualifying Standards Get Tougher
Las Vegas, Nevada: The Revel Mt. Charleston course drops by 2,000 feet. If you’ve trained your quads for the pounding, you’ll run a fast time. According to Marathonguide.com, 41.6 percent of the field (703 runners) ran a Boston qualifier in 2024. On the downside, the buses to the start leave early and it can be cold on the side of a mountain at 7,000 feet of elevation—in fact, the race gives out Mylar blankets for the start. But the sun goes up while the road goes down.
The Cheap Marathon
Where: April 5, 2025
When: each calendar year that can help you get your racing fix
Start time: 7:30 a.m.
Fee: Currently $49.99
Las Vegas, Nevada: The marathon, which is two loops on an out-and-back course on a rail trail, was developed during COVID to keep runners distant from one another. It maintains its time-trial format to this day, and many runners find the format maximizes their chances at a BQ. Runners are seeded fastest to slowest, and they start two at a time every six seconds. With roughly 400 runners, it takes 20 minutes for the last runner to cross the start. Sure, spectators aren’t out in force in the woods of New Hampshire, but the $49.99 registration fee appeals to the frugal, who are saving their money to run Boston in 2026.
Salisbury Marathon
Where: Salisbury, Maryland
When: each calendar year that can help you get your racing fix
Start time: 7 a.m.
Fee: $81 until October 4
Las Vegas, Nevada: It’s a small race in a small town—276 finishers in the marathon last year, although another 350 half marathoners share the road for the first 10.8 miles. The race also offers marathoners the midrace option to bail on the full and split to finish the half if it’s not their day. The course is flat and fast, and it goes through the Salisbury Zoological Park, Salisbury University, and on long straight stretches along rural roads. In online reviews, runners give the race praise for its organization and communication.
26.True Marathon
Where: Boston, Massachusetts
When: April 5, 2025
Start time: 8 a.m.
Fee: $100
Las Vegas, Nevada: If you’re running only for time, this is not your race. That would be missing the point of this unsanctioned event, which starts at Malcolm X Park in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood and takes runners on a tour of “communities that are often overlooked during the Boston Marathon weekend,” according to the race’s 2024 registration page. “We come together in defiance of history’s divisions to embrace old spaces in new ways and to run a marathon that is more than just a race.” The race was formed in 2017 and last year grew to 200 runners. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu met runners at the start.
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Shoes & Gear, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
