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

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon and Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon 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 Half Marathon

Mapped route
Held
Elevation profile
Held
course flatness
0.3% Favoured
flat grade share
86.4%
lower ascent
92 m
climbing density
4.4 m/km
net elevation
4 m
maximum grade
6.2%

Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon

Mapped route
Held
Elevation profile
Held
course flatness
0.4%
flat grade share
87.9% Favoured
lower ascent
102 m
climbing density
4.8 m/km
net elevation
-0 m
maximum grade
11.9%
Head-to-head comparison
MetricMercy Health Glass City Marathon Half MarathonCleveland Marathon Half Marathon
Flat grade share86.4%87.9%
GAP factor (% slower than flat)0.3%0.4%
Uphill share7.6%7.0%
Steep-up share0.0%1.3%
Downhill share6.1%5.2%
Total ascent (m)92 m102 m
Climbing density (m/km)4.4 m/km4.8 m/km
Longest climb length (m)370 m950 m
Longest climb gain (m)12 m28 m
Longest climb average grade3.2%2.9%
Total descent (m)88 m102 m
Net elevation (m)4 m-0 m
Max absolute grade6.2%11.9%
Start elevation (m)182 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 Half MarathonCleveland Marathon Half Marathon
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 distance21.1 km21.1 km
raceindex.org mapped route heldHeldHeld
raceindex.org elevation profile heldHeldHeld
TerrainRoadUnavailable
SceneryCity, Parkland, RiversideCity, Waterfront, Lakeside, Riverside
AtmosphereCommunity, CompetitiveBig City, Community
Total ascent92 m102 m
Climbing density4.4 m/km4.8 m/km
Total descent88 m102 m
Net elevation4 m-0 m
Max absolute grade6.2%11.9%
Flat grade share86.4%87.9%
GAP factor0.3%0.4%
CutoffUnavailable4:00:00
Entry modelOpenOpen

Schedule

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon

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

Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon

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

Location

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
Toledo, Ohio
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
Cleveland, Ohio

Actual distance

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
21.1 km
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
21.1 km

raceindex.org mapped route held

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
Held
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
Held

raceindex.org elevation profile held

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
Held
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
Held

Terrain

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
Road
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
Unavailable

Scenery

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
City, Parkland, Riverside
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
City, Waterfront, Lakeside, Riverside

Atmosphere

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
Community, Competitive
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
Big City, Community

Total ascent

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
92 m
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
102 m

Climbing density

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
4.4 m/km
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
4.8 m/km

Total descent

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
88 m
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
102 m

Net elevation

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
4 m
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
-0 m

Max absolute grade

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
6.2%
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
11.9%

Flat grade share

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
86.4%
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
87.9%

GAP factor

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
0.3%
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
0.4%

Cutoff

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
Unavailable
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
4:00:00

Entry model

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon
Open
Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon
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 Half Marathon or Cleveland Marathon Half Marathon?

Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Half Marathon 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 →