More than 25 per cent of runners hit BQs at this Quebec marathon

More than 25 per cent of the field at the inaugural Marathon du P’tit Train du Nord hit Boston Marathon qualifying times, according to Olympian Alain Bordeleau, who created the race.

The point-to-point Quebec marathon, which begins in Val-David and finishes in Saint-Jérôme, drops 220m. The race website lists the event as having the “fastest course in North America” and perhaps now has the numbers to back that claim. (The half-marathon follows the second half of the marathon course.)

RELATED: Canadian marathons where runners are most likely to qualify for Boston.

“Not bad for a first year,” says Bordeleau. “We are very pleased.”

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The exact rate of BQs from the race is 25.5 per cent, according to Bordeleau. That puts the race, which went off on Oct. 22, as the fastest, by percentage of BQs in relation to the size of the field, in Canada.

The winning times for the race were 2:37:58 (Pierre Slusarek) and 2:59:06 (Caroline Poitras). Like Boston, which requires entrants to hit certain qualifying standards depending on age, participants take shuttle buses to the start line. The race takes place on the P’tit Train du Nord, a popular multi-use trail through the Laurentians. The direction of the net-downhill race – with grades no more than four per cent at any point – is north to south.

In a story published on Nov. 11, Canadian Running listed the top Canadian marathons to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Those numbers are per Marathonguide.com, which doesn’t appear to list Marathon du P’tit Train du Nord in its database.

In case you’re interested, next year’s race is set for Oct. 21.