BestRaces
5211 US races scored · updated Sep 7 · rankings never sold
Find your next start line.
Browse the full race map → Races near me
Every race here is scored on four things runners actually feel — field, history, credentials, course character — and every score shows its math. Disagree with a rank? You can see exactly why we're wrong.
The top five, every distance
Composite score /100 · FLD field · HST history · CRD credentials · CHR character
- 1 New York City Marathon 100.0/100
- 2 Chicago Marathon 94.5/100
- 3 Boston Marathon 93.3/100
- 4 Marine Corps Marathon 90.8/100
- 5 Grandma's Marathon 87.1/100
- 1 Brooklyn Half Marathon 76.3/100
- 2 Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon 73.9/100
- 3 Indy Mini-Marathon 71.8/100
- 4 NYC Half Marathon 71.3/100
- 5 Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half 68.1/100
- 1 Western States 100 72.2/100
- 2 Dipsea Race 68.6/100
- 3 JFK 50 Mile 65.2/100
- 4 32nd Annual Turkey Trot 5K 60.3/100
- 5 Broken Arrow Skyrace 59.4/100
The road ahead
Top-scored races next on the calendar · est. = organizer hasn't announced yet
- Sep 11 Bird-in-Hand Half Marathon, 5K, and Kid's Fun Run
- Sep 11 18th Annual Night Owl Run
- Sep 12 9/11 Memorial 5K and Kids' Run
- Sep 12 11th Annual Kiwanis Bob Reeves Memorial 5K
- Sep 12 9/11 Heroes Run - Charleston, South Carolina
- Sep 12 5th Annual KCNA2 Epilepsy Fun Run & Roll
Most races raise entry fees as race day nears — lock the goal in early.
Start with your goal
Four doors, same receipts
Chasing a BQ The Boston qualifiers, ranked by what the data says about course and field. 
Your first half Big, established 13.1s — field size and history do the talking. 
Dirt over pavement Trail races scored on their own curve, never against the road. 
Racing all 50 states Every state, every ranked race in it. Plan the map. Browse by distance
Races near you
Pick your metro — every ranked race within its radius
Or pick your state — every ranked race in it
The Rundown
News & analysis from the data desk
Inside the Rankings ·
The 25% We Guess At: Inside the Character Column
Character is worth a quarter of a score on BestRaces — when we have actually measured it. For 4,965 of our 5,004 races we have not, and as of today we no longer pretend otherwise. The 1-to-5 scale behind it has also never once been used below a 3.
Guides ·
Your First 100-Miler: America Has Ten of Them, and They All Ask for the Same Three Things
Out of 4,965 races in our index, ten will let you start a hundred miles on foot. Seven are on trail, four run in the dark half of the year, and the kit list is shorter than you think.
Analysis ·
The Fall Eight: Every Race Left in 2026 We Can Actually Rank
3,549 races run between now and Thanksgiving. Exactly eight of them clear our scoring floor — and those eight include the two highest-scoring races in America.