What is the PR score?
The PR score is our 1–10 rating of how likely a well-trained runner is to set a personal record on a given marathon course. It answers one question: if you arrive fit, will this course give your fitness back to you on the clock?
What goes into it
It is a curated, editorial rating — compiled by hand from course maps, published results, and historical weather records, not a formula you can game. Four things carry the weight:
Elevation profile
Total climbing, and — just as important — where it falls in the race. A hill at kilometre 8 costs far less than the same hill at kilometre 35.
Weather odds
Decades of historical race-day weather for the course's city and date. Cool, calm mornings raise the score; a real risk of a hot year lowers it.
Course layout
Corners, cobbles, congestion, altitude, and exposure to wind. Wide, straight boulevards let you run the tangents and hold rhythm.
Race organisation
How well the event is set up for time-chasing: official pacers, seeded corrals, a deep competitive field to run with, and clean aid stations.
How to read the scale
9–10 · PR machines
Everything aligns: flat or gently falling courses, reliably cool weather, and elite-grade organisation. If you show up trained, the course won't be the excuse.
Berlin Marathon (10) · Valencia Marathon (10) · Chicago Marathon (9) · Seville Marathon (9)
7–8 · Fast, with an asterisk
Genuinely quick courses with one caveat — a warm-year risk, a late climb, or crowds early on. PRs happen here all the time, but they take a well-executed day.
London Marathon (8) · Tokyo Marathon (8) · Amsterdam Marathon (8) · Frankfurt Marathon (8)
5–6 · Honest courses
Nothing disqualifying, but the terrain or the weather makes you earn it. Pick these for the experience first and treat a PR as a bonus.
Boston Marathon (6) · Paris Marathon (6) · Stockholm Marathon (6) · Sydney Marathon (5)
1–4 · Run it for the race, not the clock
Hills, heat, altitude, or bridges mean your finishing time simply won't reflect your fitness. Some of the world's greatest races live here — New York among them.
New York City Marathon (4) · Madrid Marathon (4) · Mumbai Marathon (4) · Athens Marathon (The Authentic) (3)
What it is not
The PR score is not a quality rating. New York scores a 4 and is one of the best marathons on earth — but five bridges and a rolling finish are honest facts about your finishing time. A low score means “don't chase a time here,” never “don't run this race.”
It is also deliberately opinionated and deliberately coarse. Course conditions vary year to year, and no single number replaces reading a race's full profile — elevation chart, weather history, and registration notes. More on our data and methodology on the about page.