Boston Marathon qualifying times

By Rai Ansar · Updated 25 September 2026 · Tables generated by this site's calculator and verified by independent automated calculation checks. How pages are made

Men's qualifying times and paces

These are the standards for the 2027 Boston Marathon (19 April 2027); the B.A.A.'s 21 September 2026 release says the same standards apply in 2028. “Minus 4:34” means 4:34 faster than the standard, the margin needed for acceptance in 2026. The 2027 cut-off had not been announced when we checked.

Women's and non-binary qualifying times and paces

The B.A.A. sets the same standards for women and non-binary athletes, 30 minutes slower than the men's standard for each age group.

How the cut-off works

A qualifying time only lets you apply. When more qualifiers apply than the field has room for, the B.A.A. accepts the applicants who beat their own standard by the most. The margin is the same number of minutes and seconds in every age group, so in 2026 a man aged 35 to 39 needed 2:55:26 or faster and a woman aged 60 to 64 needed 4:15:26 or faster. The table reproduces the B.A.A.'s published list.

The B.A.A.'s table has no row for 2013. 2012 was the first year of rolling admission, when those who beat their standard by the most could register first; 2022 and 2023 accepted every qualifier.

2027 registration and the new random selection

• Qualifier registration for the 2027 race ran from 14 to 18 September 2026 and was not first-come, first-served.
• The B.A.A. received 33,656 qualifier applications, up from 33,267 for 2026, and says the number accepted will be consistent with recent years. Notices go out by early October, and the B.A.A. says it will not predict the cut-off.
• New for 2027, the Boston Qualifier Selection will randomly select about 1,000 applicants whose times were not fast enough for the cut-off. Everyone who misses the cut-off is entered automatically.
• The qualifying window for the 2028 race (17 April 2028) opened on 19 September 2026 and runs through registration week in September 2027.

Downhill courses now cost time

Starting with registration for the 2027 race, times from courses with a net drop of 1,500 to 2,999 feet (457.2 to 914.1 m) have 5:00 added before review; courses dropping 3,000 to 5,999 feet have 10:00 added; and courses dropping 6,000 feet or more do not count. On a 1,500-foot course, a 3:30:00 standard means running 3:25:00 on the clock, which is 7:49 per mile instead of 8:00.

What counts as a qualifying marathon

• An official net (chip) time on a course certified by USATF, AIMS, World Athletics or a national governing body.
• A full marathon run outdoors, with at least three official entrants and transponder timing. No indoor, virtual, treadmill or time-trial marathons.
• Minimum age 18 on race day. Your age group is your age on race day, not on the day you qualified.

Plan the race that gets you there

Certified courses are measured on the shortest possible route, so your watch will usually read long; pace yourself by the mile markers or the elapsed times on a band, not the watch's pace field. The marathon split calculator gives every mile and 5 km split for any Boston qualifying time, the printable pace band puts them on your wrist, and the negative splits guide shows how a slightly slower start changes each checkpoint. The sub-3-hour marathon pace, 3:30 marathon pace and 4-hour marathon pace pages cover three of the standards in depth.