Boston Qualifier

We like to recognize great accomplishments at the Tobacco Road Marathon! When you cross that finish line with a Boston Marathon qualifying (BQ) time or a personal best (PR for personal record), ring our celebratory bell so we can all share in your accomplishment! The bell is just beyond the finish line.

After you make it through the finish line, collect your medal, and refuel at our post-race party, stop by our awards table. We have a special Boston Qualifying t-shirt for you. Be proud of your accomplishment, we sure are!

The Tobacco Road Marathon has the MOST BOSTON QUALIFIERS and HIGHEST PERCENT of any marathon in North Carolina and is #281 on findmymarathon.com's list of fastest marathons here.

We have an impressive percentage of BQ times.  Take a look at some of the statistics from https://findmymarathon.com :
 

Marathon	% of runners who BQ
Tobacco Road - Cary	12.4%
Wilmington (Wrightsville Beach)	11.3%
RDC*	9.8%
Oak Island	8.6%
Valentines Day - Greensboro	7.7%
Coast Guard - Elizabeth City	6.8%
Asheville	6.2%
Emerald Isle	5.9%
Outer Banks	4.3%
Cannonball - Greensboro	3.9%
City of Oaks - Raleigh	3.4%
Charlotte	3.4%
New River - Fleetwood	3.0%
Ellerbe	0.0%

Notes:
* RDC runs on essentially the same course on the same American Tobacco Trail, just with a different start/finish point.

In some years, we have had nearly 20 percent of Tobacco Road Marathon runners qualify for the Boston Marathon.  That's why our event, conducted on the fast, flat American Tobacco Trail is known as a "Boston Qualifier."

Qualifying standards for the Boston Marathon are posted on their site and are defined by the Boston Athletic Association.