Fastest Marathons in the United States - 2026 Edition

The United States represents the single largest national contributor to the Sub-3 World Marathon Rankings. Of the 286 races included in the 2026 edition, 76 took place in the United States, accounting for 27% of all ranked marathons. No other country contributes more events to the global dataset, reflecting both the scale of the US marathon calendar and the depth of serious amateur participation.

That depth is not evenly distributed across the year. In 2025, 38% of ranked US marathons took place in Spring/Summer, with 62% concentrated in the Autumn/Winter period. This seasonal skew reflects the central role of late-year racing in the US sub-3 landscape, where cooler conditions and purpose-built courses consistently support fast, controlled marathon running.

This United States edition applies the same Sub-3 scoring model used across the global rankings, balancing the proportion of sub-3 finishers and the absolute number of sub-3 performances, with a smaller adjustment for winning time. In a country where race scale varies dramatically - from mass-participation majors to tightly focused regional events - that balance is essential for identifying which marathons most reliably support sub-3 performance in practice.

Within that broader field of 76 ranked races, the Top 10 highlighted below represent the strongest overall performers in the United States, combining depth, density, and consistency at the sharp end of amateur marathon running.

🥇 Boston Marathon
Massachusetts
Boston tops the US rankings by combining historic scale with exceptional performance depth. In 2025 it produced 5,082 sub-3 finishers from 40,705 total finishers (12.48%), alongside a 2:04:45 winning time. While its course profile is demanding, Boston’s qualification system creates one of the most competitive amateur fields in the world, delivering sub-3 depth unmatched by any other US race.
→ View full profile: Boston Marathon

🥈 California International Marathon
California
CIM ranks second with one of the strongest sub-3 concentrations anywhere in the United States. The race recorded 1,423 sub-3 finishers from 8,178 total finishers (17.40%), supported by a 2:09:29 winning time. Its net downhill profile, December scheduling, and time-focused field make it a benchmark event for serious sub-3 attempts.
→ View full profile: California International Marathon

🥉 Chicago Marathon
Illinois
Chicago places third on the strength of sheer volume. In 2025 it produced 4,054 sub-3 finishers from 54,284 total finishers (7.47%), alongside a 2:02:23 winning time. While overall sub-3 density is lower than at more specialist events, Chicago’s scale ensures it remains one of the largest single contributors to US sub-3 performances.
→ View full profile: Chicago Marathon

4️⃣ Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Indiana
Indianapolis ranks fourth by delivering a strong balance between scale and performance density. The race produced 823 sub-3 finishers from 6,678 total finishers (12.32%), with a 2:12:28 winning time, reinforcing its reputation as one of the most reliable autumn marathons in the US for time-focused runners.
→ View full profile: Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

5️⃣ Mt Charleston Marathon
Nevada
Mt Charleston enters the top five through performance concentration rather than size. In 2025 it recorded 292 sub-3 finishers from 2,408 total finishers (12.13%), supported by a 2:22:37 winning time. Its downhill course profile and focused field consistently produce a high proportion of sub-3 outcomes.
→ View full profile: Mt Charleston Marathon

6️⃣ Erie Marathon
Pennsylvania
Erie ranks sixth with one of the strongest sub-3 percentages in the country. The race produced 139 sub-3 finishers from 1,103 total finishers (12.60%), alongside a 2:23:29 winning time, underlining its status as a compact, performance-oriented event with unusually dense sub-3 participation.
→ View full profile: Erie Marathon

7️⃣ New York City Marathon
New York
New York places seventh on volume alone. In 2025 it delivered 2,395 sub-3 finishers from 59,125 total finishers (4.05%), with a 2:08:09 winning time. Heavy congestion and course complexity limit overall sub-3 density, but the absolute number of fast finishes still secures its place among the US leaders.
→ View full profile: New York City Marathon

8️⃣ Baystate Marathon
Massachusetts
Baystate ranks eighth after producing 131 sub-3 finishers from 1,140 total finishers (11.49%), supported by a 2:27:17 winning time. Its small scale and focused entrant base create a field where a high proportion of runners are competing at a serious performance level.
→ View full profile: Baystate Marathon

9️⃣ Eugene Marathon
Oregon
Eugene places ninth with 399 sub-3 finishers from 3,843 total finishers (10.38%), alongside a 2:19:43 winning time. The race combines moderate scale with consistent sub-3 depth, making it a dependable option for runners targeting fast spring performances.
→ View full profile: Eugene Marathon

🔟 Bayshore Marathon
Michigan
Bayshore completes the US top ten after recording 157 sub-3 finishers from 1,658 total finishers (9.47%), with a 2:20:10 winning time. Its scenic point-to-point course and compact field continue to attract a high proportion of committed sub-3 runners.
→ View full profile: Bayshore Marathon

The United States’ leaders by sub-3 volume

When ranked purely by total number of sub-3 finishers, the US landscape is led by its biggest concentration races. Boston tops the list by a clear margin, followed by Chicago, New York City, California International Marathon, and Indianapolis Monumental, with Houston, Philadelphia, Grandma’s, Marine Corps, and Eugene completing the top tier. These races account for the largest absolute concentration of sub-3 performances in the United States, driven by a combination of scale, qualification standards, and consistently competitive fields.

The United States’ strongest races by sub-3 percentage

Measured by sub-3 density, a different picture emerges. California International Marathon leads, joined by Erie, Boston, Indianapolis Monumental, Mt Charleston, Baystate, Eugene, Bayshore, Ventura, and Los Angeles. These races demonstrate that in the United States, the best chances of a sub-3 performance are often found not in the biggest events, but in fields where a high proportion of runners arrive with the same time-focused intent.

The United States: fast marathon running across many states

The United States’ prominence in the sub-3 landscape is defined less by a single dominant region than by the sheer breadth of its state-level marathon ecosystem. Within the Sub-3 World Marathon Rankings, 39 states hosted marathons with more than 1,000 finishers, underlining how widely distributed serious marathon running is across the country. Sixteen states contributed two or more ranked races, while a smaller core group emerged as consistent hubs for performance-focused events.

At the top of that hierarchy sits California, which alone accounted for 13 ranked marathons – around 17% of all US races in the Sub-3 dataset. That concentration exceeds the national contribution of most individual countries included in the global rankings, highlighting the scale and maturity of California’s marathon calendar. A second tier of states, including Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Virginia and Ohio, each contributed three or more ranked events, reinforcing the idea that fast marathon running in the US is supported by multiple regional centres rather than a single axis.

Crucially, this depth exists alongside a much wider layer of smaller events across the country. Many additional marathons operate below the World Marathon Rankings inclusion threshold, which focuses on races with more than 1,000 finishers to ensure meaningful field depth. Taken together, the picture is one of a genuinely broad national ecosystem: large, destination races coexist with regional and local events that still attract serious sub-3 intent. For performance-focused runners, that diversity translates into real choice – not just between marquee races, but between different state-level marathon environments where fast, controlled running is actively supported.

2026 Full Listings Table

About These Rankings

These rankings present the United States section of the Sub-3 World Marathon Rankings, drawing on verified results from marathons held between January and December 2025. Each race is scored using Sub-3’s 45:45:10 model, which weights the proportion of sub-3 finishers, the total number of sub-3 performances, and the fastest winning time. Together, these measures allow for consistent comparison across events of very different sizes and profiles. You can read more about the methodology behind the global rankings on our Rankings Methodology page.

Missing a Marathon?

We include open-entry road marathons in the United States with at least 1,000 finishers and publicly verifiable results. Elite-only events and races without published finisher data are excluded from the Sub-3 World Marathon Rankings, and therefore from this United States edition. If you believe an eligible marathon has been missed, please get in touch.