Boston Marathon: America’s Most Grueling Race? (Photos)

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The starting gun for the Boston Marathon goes off Monday, April 16, with a stampede of world-class runners not far behind. It’s one of five World Marathon Majors (the New York City and Chicago marathons are the other majors in the U.S.), the most important races each year in the running world.

But is the Boston Marathon also one of the toughest in America? Turns out, not quite.

To find America’s most grueling marathon, we started with marathons that had at least 5,000 finishers in its most recent race. These marathons attract the best runners from around the country—and the world.

Then we looked at the coldest, most telling statistic available as a proxy of a race’s toughness: finishing time. Specifically, we took into account overall average finishing time, best average finishing time for the men’s winner, and the best average finishing time for the women’s winner, over the most recent three-race period available—with data from Marathon Guide. Each category was weighted equally to determine our final ranking.

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Total finishers (2011): 23,879
Average finishing time (2009-2011)*: 3 hours, 50 minutes
Average best men’s finish (2009-2011): 2 hours, 6 minutes
Average best women’s finish (2009-2011): 2 hours, 27 minutes

2011 winner, men: Geoffrey Mutai; Kenya
2011 winner, women: Caroline Kilel; Kenya

*All ranges 2009-2011 unless otherwise noted.

Mary Schwalm / AP Photo

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Total finishers (2012): 7,637
Average finishing time (2010-2012): 4 hours, 30 minutes
Average best men’s finish (2010-2012): 2 hours, 7 minutes
Average best women’s finish (2010-2012): 2 hours, 24 minutes

2012 winner, men: Tariku Jufar; Pennsylvania
2012 winner, women: Alemitu Abera; Pennsylvania

Brett Coomer / AP Photo

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Total finishers: 35,670
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 37 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 6 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 21 minutes

2011 winner, men: Moses Mosop; Kenya
2011 winner, women: Liliya Shobukhova; Russia

Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images

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Total finishers: 46,536
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 27 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 7 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 27 minutes

2011 winner, men: Geoffrey Mutai; Kenya
2011 winner, women: Firehiwot Dado; Ethiopia

Timothy A. Clary, AFP / Getty Images

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Sacramento, California

Total finishers: 5,755
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 13 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 13 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 33 minutes

2011 winner, men: Erick Monyenye; Texas
2011 winner, women: Serkalem Abrha: Ethiopia

Anthony Ramos / Flickr

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Total finishers: 8,531
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 17 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 13 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 29 minutes

2011 winner, men: Sammy Malakwen; Minnesota
2011 winner, women: Yeshimebet Bifa; Maryland

Andy King / AP Photo

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San Diego, California

Total finishers: 8,267
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 54 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 11 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 26 minutes

2011 winner, men: Terfa Negari; Kenya
2011 winner, women: Buzunesh Deba; Ethiopia

Denis Poroy / AP Photo

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Total finishers (2012): 18,729
Average finishing time (2010-2012): 5 hours, 18 minutes
Average best men’s finish (2010-2012): 2 hours, 9 minutes
Average best women’s finish (2010-2012): 2 hours, 26 minutes

2012 winner, men: Simon Njoroge; Kenya
2012 winner, women: Fatuma Sado; Ethiopia

Steve Grayson / Getty Images

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Total finishers: 10,313
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 19 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 40 minutes

2011 winner, men: Folisho Tuko; New York
2011 winner, women: Mariska Kramer; Netherlands

Joseph Kaczmarek / AP Photo

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Duluth, Minnesota

Total finishers: 6,333
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 27 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 14 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 33 minutes

2011 winner, men: Christopher Kipyeg; Texas
2011 winner, women: Yihunlish Bekele Delelecha; Washington, DC

Kathy Strauss, Duluth News-Tribune / AP Photo

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St. George, Utah

Total finishers: 5,700
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 22 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 23 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 46 minutes

2011 winner, men: Jonathan Kotter; Utah
2011 winner, women: Rosanna Lee; Utah

Ken Lund / Flickr

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Total finishers: 19,078
Average finishing time: 5 hours, 57 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 14 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 31 minutes

2011 winner, men: Nicholas Chelimo; Kenya
2011 winner, women: Woynishet Girma; Ethiopia

Hugh Gentry / Reuters

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Washington, DC

Total finishers: 20,895
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 43 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 22 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 45 minutes

2011 winner, men: Charles Ware; Illinois
2011 winner, women: Tezata Dengersa; Maryland

Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images

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Total finishers: 5,999
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 31 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 26 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 49 minutes

2011 winner, men: Michael Wardian; Virginia
2011 winner, women: Emily Field; California

Ben Margot / AP Photo

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Orlando, Florida

Total finishers (2012): 13,512
Average finishing time (2010-2012): 5 hours, 7 minutes
Average best men’s finish (2010-2012): 2 hours, 21 minutes
Average best women’s finish (2010-2012): 2 hours, 45 minutes

2012 winner, men: Fredison Costa; Brazil
2012 winner, women: Renee High; Virginia

Matt Stroshane / Disney via Getty Images

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Total finishers: 8,461
Average finishing time: 4 hours, 45 minutes
Average best men’s finish: 2 hours, 27 minutes
Average best women’s finish: 2 hours, 51 minutes

2011 winner, men: Ian Nurse; Oregon
2011 winner, women: Marci Klimek; Oregon

Montag2k / Flickr

Boston Marathon: America’s Most Grueling Race? (Photos)

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