Boston Marathon Qualifying Standards

B.A.A. qualifying standards for the 2028 Boston Marathon (April 17, 2028), the same as for 2027. Meeting the standard does not guarantee entry. See the cutoff history below.

BQ standards for 2028 (unchanged from 2027)

Age Group	Men	Women and non-binary	Likely needed*
18-34	2:55:00	3:25:00	2:49:43 3:19:43
35-39	3:00:00	3:30:00	2:54:43 3:24:43
40-44	3:05:00	3:35:00	2:59:43 3:29:43
45-49	3:15:00	3:45:00	3:09:43 3:39:43
50-54	3:20:00	3:50:00	3:14:43 3:44:43
55-59	3:30:00	4:00:00	3:24:43 3:54:43
60-64	3:50:00	4:20:00	3:44:43 4:14:43
65-69	4:05:00	4:35:00	3:59:43 4:29:43
70-74	4:20:00	4:50:00	4:14:43 4:44:43
75-79	4:35:00	5:05:00	4:29:43 4:59:43
80+	4:50:00	5:20:00	4:44:43 5:14:43

* The standard minus the latest cutoff (5:17, 2027 race): men on top, women and non-binary below. Standards were made 5:00 faster for every age group under 60 from the 2026 race; 60 and over did not change. Age is your age on race day.

Historical Cutoffs

Race Year	Cutoff Under BQ	Accepted / applied
2027 (131st)	5:17	24,630 + 1,000 drawn / 33,649
2026 (130th)	4:34	24,362 / 33,249
2025 (129th)	6:51	24,069 / 36,393
2024 (128th)	5:29	22,019 / 33,058
2023 (127th)	0:00	All qualifiers accepted
2022 (126th)	0:00	All qualifiers accepted
2021 (125th, October)	7:47	-
2020 (virtual)	1:39	-
2019 (123rd)	4:52	-

How registration works

Qualifier registration is a single week in September (September 14 to 18, 2026 for the 2027 race; September 2027 for the 2028 race), and it is not first come, first served. The B.A.A. checks every time, ranks applicants by how far under their standard they ran, and accepts the fastest until the field is full. The margin of the last runner accepted is that year's cutoff.

Random selection (since 2027)

Qualifiers who beat their standard but miss the cutoff are entered automatically in the Boston Qualifier Selection, a random draw for 1,000 extra places. For the 2027 race, 24,630 qualifiers were accepted by the cutoff and 1,000 more by the draw. There is nothing extra to sign up for.

Downhill courses

For times run from September 13, 2025: a course that finishes 1,500 to 2,999 ft (457 to 914 m) below its start has 5:00 added to the time, 3,000 to 5,999 ft has 10:00 added, and 6,000 ft (1,829 m) or more is not accepted. The B.A.A. says these downhill adjustments are subject to change ahead of the 2028 registration period.

Qualifying race rules

Your qualifying race must be a full marathon (26.2 miles / 42.195 km) on a course certified by USA Track & Field, AIMS or the national governing body for distance running in the country where the race is held, run within the qualifying window. For the 2028 race the window opened on September 19, 2026 and runs through registration week in September 2027. Half marathons and ultras do not count.

Source: B.A.A., Qualify for the Boston Marathon (last checked September 30, 2026).

Check your BQ status