On April 21, the storied Boston Marathon will kick off for the 129th time, with more than 24,000 runners winding their way 26.2 miles from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to Copley Square near the Boston Public Library. The marathon’s host, the Boston Athletic Association, reported a record of 36,393 qualifier applications.
That means more than 12,000 applicants didn’t make the cut, even if their qualifying times met the standard for their age and gender. The cutoff for qualifying was a full six minutes and 51 seconds faster than age group standards.
While that number demonstrates how tough it is to qualify for Boston, there are plenty of marathons in the United States on the calendar every year, generally from spring to fall. But first, you have to get your head around the idea of pounding pavement for 26.2 miles.
Let’s break down the mileage:
How far is 26.2 miles?
If you’re not from Boston, visualizing 26.2 miles can be as simple as thinking of a local landmark a mile from your home and imagining what it would be like to run there and back 13 times. But just in case you need a few extra fun examples of a marathon distance, we’ve worked out the math for you:
What are the largest marathons in the U.S.?
The TCS New York City Marathon (set for Nov. 2) is the largest in the world, with 55,646 finishers recorded in the 2024 race.
Below are the 10 largest races by finishers in 2024:
How long would it take you to run a marathon?
Assuming you’ve trained and adopted the traits of other successful marathon runners, like endurance, discipline and mental strength, your finish time in a marathon is really going to come down to math. A faster average mile pace is going to lower your overall finish time.
In the table below, finish times for marathons and half-marathons correspond to the nearest mile pace in 10-second intervals:
Boston, Chicago and New York are the three U.S. races in the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a points-based championship-style competition that draws elite marathon runners from around the world. Qualifying times — times you’ve achieved in certified marathons — are among the most demanding to enter these races.
SOURCES USA Running