Which marathons are affected by Boston’s downhill rule?
Starting with 2027 Boston Marathon registration, the BAA adjusts qualifying times according to how much a course drops from start to finish. A course dropping 1,500 to 2,999 feet has 5 minutes added to your time, 3,000 to 5,999 feet has 10 minutes added, and a course dropping 6,000 feet or more is not accepted as a qualifier at all. Below is where each downhill marathon Stride covers falls.
Races with a qualifying-time adjustment
2 courses drop far enough that a Boston qualifying time run there is treated as slower than the clock.
| Race | Location | Net drop | Qualifying-time adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| REVEL Big Cottonwood Marathon | Cottonwood Heights, UT | About 5,244 ft | Adds 10:00 |
| REVEL Big Bear Marathon | Big Bear, CA | About 5,081 ft | Adds 10:00 |
Too close to call
These courses sit within a couple of hundred feet of a threshold. Published elevation figures for the same course routinely disagree by more than that, and some races have revised their routes specifically to stay under a line, so we will not tell you which side they land on. If you are targeting a qualifier at one of these, check the BAA’s current ruling for that race.
| Race | Location | Net drop | Qualifying-time adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tucson Marathon | Tucson, AZ | About 1,502 ft | Too close to a threshold to call |
| Deseret News Marathon | Salt Lake City, UT | About 1,476 ft | Too close to a threshold to call |
| Utah Valley Marathon | Provo, UT | About 1,435 ft | Too close to a threshold to call |
Downhill courses with no adjustment
These courses lose real elevation and still sit under the 1,500-foot threshold, so a qualifying time run on them counts as run. They are worth knowing about: you get some of the benefit of a downhill course without the adjustment.
| Race | Location | Net drop | Qualifying-time adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Marathon | Fort Collins, CO | About 1,130 ft | No adjustment |
| Ogden Marathon | Ogden, UT | About 1,116 ft | No adjustment |
| Steamtown Marathon | Scranton, PA | About 953 ft | No adjustment |
| Tunnel Vision Marathon | North Bend, WA | About 870 ft | No adjustment |
| Mesa Marathon | Mesa, AZ | About 866 ft | No adjustment |
| Mesa Falls Marathon | Ashton, ID | About 861 ft | No adjustment |
| Mountains 2 Beach Marathon | Ventura, CA | About 724 ft | No adjustment |
| Salt Lake City Marathon | Salt Lake City, UT | About 584 ft | No adjustment |
| Sugarloaf Marathon | Carrabassett Valley, ME | About 572 ft | No adjustment |
Common questions
- What is the Boston Marathon downhill index?
- Starting with 2027 Boston Marathon registration, the BAA adjusts qualifying times based on how much a course drops from start to finish. Courses dropping 1,500 to 2,999 feet have 5 minutes added to the time you ran, courses dropping 3,000 to 5,999 feet have 10 minutes added, and courses dropping 6,000 feet or more are not accepted at all.
- Does the downhill index mean I should avoid downhill marathons?
- Not necessarily. A steep downhill course can still be the fastest race you run, and the adjustment only matters if Boston is your goal. What it does mean is that you should know the adjustment before you enter, and that you need real downhill training, because quad damage rather than fitness is what ends most days on these courses.
- How do I train for a steeply downhill marathon?
- Build eccentric quad durability with repeated long runs on sustained descents, not a single big downhill run late in the block, which causes damage without adaptation. Practice a short high-cadence stride rather than a long braking one, and finish some long runs with flat miles at goal pace to rehearse arriving at the flat section on tired legs.
Net drop figures are drawn from published course elevation data and are approximate. Course routes change, and the BAA is the authority on how any individual race is treated. Read the current BAA qualifying rules. Race dates shown across this site reflect the edition Stride currently supports; the soonest course listed here runs November 8, 2026.
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