A MESSAGE FROM THE RACE DIRECTOR:
As we all know, these are challenging times. As with every year, our highest priority is the health and safety of our runners, volunteers, medical team, and everyone else who helps make the Last Chance BQ.2 America’s #1 qualifier. That said, getting you to Boston is also at the top of our priorities.
Based on our interpretation of the BAA statement about the expanded window for Boston 2021 qualifying races (BAA STATEMENT) we anticipate the times needed to get into Boston 2021 to be even lower, meaning the Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon’s emphasis on getting runners their best times will be even higher for this year.
We’re a smaller race and already planning additional health and safety measures for the event to hopefully allow it to proceed under the State of Michigan guidelines. Our message today is that we’re planning to hold the 2020 Last Chance BQ.2 Marathon as scheduled. We will continue to work with local public officials who are closely monitoring the developments related to COVID-19.
In the unfortunate event that we are unable to hold the race, registrants will be offered a deferral to the 2021 Last Chance BQ.2, the 2020 or 2021 Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon, or the 2021 Groundhog Day Marathon. However, a refund will not be an option. At this time, we plan to hold the event as scheduled, however, if it is necessary to make a different decision, our goal will be to finalize that decision by the end of July.
Thank you for your patience as we all navigate through these difficult times together.

THE BQ.2 RACES ARE THE BEST QUALIFYING RACES IN THE COUNTRY. THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF QUALIFIERS ANYWHERE!

In 2019, 58% of finishers qualified for Boston!

You should only sign up for this race if you are going to be ready to qualify for Boston. To sign up before July 15 you'll need to run a "qualifying race" to sign up. Please check the table below.

A race we designed specifically to give you a shot at getting to Boston in 2021. Limited to 330 runners.
See our Qualifying times chart for qualifying times. THERE IS A 4:30 TIME LIMIT.

So beating your BQ time by 5 minutes means you’ll be able to register that Monday for Boston 2021! (NOTE: WE DON'T KNOW THE REGISTRATION WINDOW FOR THE 2021 BOSTON MARATHON YET!) Brought to you by the same team from the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon. As runners, we know how important Boston is to you. And we know what it takes to get there. We’ve been there ourselves, and we’ve helped THOUSANDS of runners get there in our 16 years with the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon. And for 2020, we’re here to help you get there with a race focused completely on getting you to Boston 2021. CONTACT US WITH QUESTIONS donkern1@gmail.com, 616 293 3145

There are qualifying standards to get into this race. The reason we have qualifying standards is because WE WANT EVERYONE IN THIS RACE PREPARED TO QUALIFY FOR BOSTON! The table is below. For more on Boston Qualifying standards and info on their registration dates, CLICK

Our sister BQ.2 race is being held in Geneva, Illinois. It's under different management and on a different registration platform. Don't get confused. They also do a Spring Chance BQ.2 in the spring.