For arguments sake let's keep this to the top top 50 most populous metro areas. To qualify, a race must be the city's flagship marathon, eg the Los Angeles Marathon counts but any other random marathon in the LA area does not. Discuss
This is a very easy question if we limit it to the flagship marathon of major us cities. It is the San Francisco marathon. You might think it would be Denver because of the altitude, but I promise you that if you run San Fran you'll wish you were in Denver if your goal is a fast time.
Top 50 metro areas and their marathons. Thanks to GPT.
New York City, NY: TCS New York City Marathon Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Marathon Chicago, IL: Bank of America Chicago Marathon Dallas-Fort Worth, TX: BMW Dallas Marathon Houston, TX: Chevron Houston Marathon Washington, D.C.: Marine Corps Marathon Miami, FL: Miami Marathon Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Marathon Atlanta, GA: Atlanta Marathon Boston, MA: Boston Marathon Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix Marathon San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Marathon Riverside-San Bernardino, CA: The Mission Inn Run Detroit, MI: Detroit Free Press/TCF Bank Marathon Seattle, WA: Seattle Marathon Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN: Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon San Diego, CA: San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Tampa, FL: Publix Gasparilla Distance Classic Denver, CO: Colfax Marathon St. Louis, MO: GO! St. Louis Marathon Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Running Festival Charlotte, NC: Novant Health Charlotte Marathon Orlando, FL: OUC Orlando Half Marathon San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Portland, OR: Portland Marathon Sacramento, CA: California International Marathon Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh Marathon Las Vegas, NV: Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon Cincinnati, OH: Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon Kansas City, MO: Kansas City Marathon Austin, TX: Ascension Seton Austin Marathon Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Marathon Indianapolis, IN: OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon Columbus, OH: Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon San Jose, CA: Silicon Valley Half Marathon Nashville, TN: St. Jude Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon Virginia Beach, VA: Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Providence, RI: Providence Marathon Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Marathon Jacksonville, FL: Ameris Bank Jacksonville Marathon Memphis, TN: St. Jude Memphis Marathon Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon Louisville, KY: Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon Hartford, CT: Eversource Hartford Marathon Richmond, VA: Richmond Marathon New Orleans, LA: Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans Marathon Buffalo, NY: Buffalo Marathon Raleigh, NC: Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon Birmingham, AL: Birmingham Marathon Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake City Marathon
I don't know what the current configuration for the Atlanta course is but the original course that ran thru the Paces Ferry area was a nightmare; nothing but big hills. The course used for the '96 Olympics is the hilliest Olympic course.
Atlanta 1370 ft of gain!! San Fran goes home devastated
Atlanta may have more elevation total, but SF is harder based on the nature and timing of the hills. Definitely SF is a slower course based on a bunch of metrics and typical performances.
Click below to view the map. Note: all maps are subject to change. Course map for the Marathon, Marathon Relay, 21-Miler, and 11-Miler 12K and 5K course map Event starts Finish area map Bus departure locations Race Weekend –...
EVENT DETAILS America’s Toughest Road Marathon has the most elevation change of any road race in the United States. LOCATION: Course Start at Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke, VA START TIME: 7:35 AM Corral Start System– Look...
Course elevation measurements vary widely depending on the source. And most of them use some sort of digital elevation model, which don't account for bridges- so on a course like New York or San Francisco, when you go over those tall bridges a course profile based on a digital elevation model will show you at sea level or some other incorrect elevation. Here's the official , near miles 8 and 13 there should be identical arcs topping out at around 250' as you go over the Golden Gate Bridge but instead they show an elevation of about 70'.
Only way to truly know is if someone went out and physically surveyed the course with an accurate instrument, but I'm not aware of any courses that have done this.
Just for comparison's sake--yes, I know it's not what the OP asked for--the Erie marathon is pretty much PR City. Total elevation gain would be something under 10ft.
I realize that some runners actually prefer a little bit of roll, so you're not using exactly the same motor units for 42km, but for someone walking the race (like me), it was great.