Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K or Cleveland Marathon 5K — which comes out ahead?

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K and Cleveland Marathon 5K split the available advantages, so the better choice depends on which metric matters most to the runner.

Route comparison snapshot

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K

Mapped route
Held
Elevation profile
Held
course flatness
-0.1% Favoured
flat grade share
81.0%
lower ascent
23 m
climbing density
4.6 m/km
net elevation
-3 m
maximum grade
7.0%

Cleveland Marathon 5K

Mapped route
Held
Elevation profile
Held
course flatness
0.5%
flat grade share
88.8% Favoured
lower ascent
24 m
climbing density
4.8 m/km
net elevation
0 m
maximum grade
8.0%
Head-to-head comparison
MetricMercy Health Glass City Marathon 5KCleveland Marathon 5K
Flat grade share81.0%88.8%
GAP factor (% slower than flat)-0.1%0.5%
Uphill share8.6%4.9%
Steep-up share0.6%2.7%
Downhill share10.4%6.3%
Total ascent (m)23 m24 m
Climbing density (m/km)4.6 m/km4.8 m/km
Longest climb length (m)1,080 m1,290 m
Longest climb gain (m)9 m19 m
Longest climb average grade0.8%1.5%
Total descent (m)26 m25 m
Net elevation (m)-3 m0 m
Max absolute grade7.0%8.0%
Start elevation (m)189 m198 m
Finish elevation (m)186 m198 m
Scenic score30/10055/100
Conditions77/10069/100

Only metrics available for at least one side are shown. A ✓ marks the better value for each metric (higher-is-better aware). Scores are out of 100 when available. Ascent, climbing density, max absolute grade and median finish describe course or field context and are not marked as better or worse.

Race facts that change the decision

Race facts comparison
FactMercy Health Glass City Marathon 5KCleveland Marathon 5K
Schedule

Exact race date not confirmed. Event weekend starts 2027-04-25 (legacy event-level date).

Exact race date not confirmed. Event weekend starts 2027-05-16 (legacy event-level date).

LocationToledo, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Actual distance5 km5 km
raceindex.org mapped route heldHeldHeld
raceindex.org elevation profile heldHeldHeld
TerrainRoadUnavailable
SceneryCity, Parkland, RiversideCity, Waterfront, Lakeside, Riverside
AtmosphereCommunity, CompetitiveBig City, Community
Total ascent23 m24 m
Climbing density4.6 m/km4.8 m/km
Total descent26 m25 m
Net elevation-3 m0 m
Max absolute grade7.0%8.0%
Flat grade share81.0%88.8%
GAP factor-0.1%0.5%
Entry modelOpenOpen

Schedule

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K

Exact race date not confirmed. Event weekend starts 2027-04-25 (legacy event-level date).

Cleveland Marathon 5K

Exact race date not confirmed. Event weekend starts 2027-05-16 (legacy event-level date).

Location

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
Toledo, Ohio
Cleveland Marathon 5K
Cleveland, Ohio

Actual distance

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
5 km
Cleveland Marathon 5K
5 km

raceindex.org mapped route held

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
Held
Cleveland Marathon 5K
Held

raceindex.org elevation profile held

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
Held
Cleveland Marathon 5K
Held

Terrain

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
Road
Cleveland Marathon 5K
Unavailable

Scenery

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
City, Parkland, Riverside
Cleveland Marathon 5K
City, Waterfront, Lakeside, Riverside

Atmosphere

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
Community, Competitive
Cleveland Marathon 5K
Big City, Community

Total ascent

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
23 m
Cleveland Marathon 5K
24 m

Climbing density

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
4.6 m/km
Cleveland Marathon 5K
4.8 m/km

Total descent

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
26 m
Cleveland Marathon 5K
25 m

Net elevation

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
-3 m
Cleveland Marathon 5K
0 m

Max absolute grade

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
7.0%
Cleveland Marathon 5K
8.0%

Flat grade share

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
81.0%
Cleveland Marathon 5K
88.8%

GAP factor

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
-0.1%
Cleveland Marathon 5K
0.5%

Entry model

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K
Open
Cleveland Marathon 5K
Open

Facts are shown only when they exist in the sourced race record; Not held means no sourced value is held for that race.

Common questions

Which is flatter, Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K or Cleveland Marathon 5K?

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon 5K has the lower GAP factor, making it the flatter course on our route model and more favourable on gradient alone.

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How figures are calculated →