Boston Marathon qualifying times for 2027 and 2028, by age
Boston Marathon qualifying times by age for men, women and non-binary runners, the qualifying window, past cutoff times and which races count, from baa.org.
Road Guide Updated
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To qualify for Boston, you need a certified marathon time that meets the standard for your age and gender. That gets you the right to apply, not a place. For each Boston Marathon from 2024 to 2027, applicants had to be more than four and a half minutes under their standard to be accepted.
Everything below comes from the Boston Athletic Association's qualifying page, checked in November 2026. The B.A.A. can change standards, rules and registration details, so confirm on baa.org before you plan a race around them.
Boston Marathon qualifying times for 2027 and 2028
The B.A.A. uses the same standards for the 2027 and 2028 Boston Marathons, and they match the 2026 standards. Your age group is based on your age on the day of the Boston Marathon you're applying for (the B.A.A. gives those dates as April 19, 2027 and April 17, 2028), and you have to be at least 18 on race day.
| Age group | Men | Women | Non-binary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 2:55:00 | 3:25:00 | 3:25:00 |
| 35–39 | 3:00:00 | 3:30:00 | 3:30:00 |
| 40–44 | 3:05:00 | 3:35:00 | 3:35:00 |
| 45–49 | 3:15:00 | 3:45:00 | 3:45:00 |
| 50–54 | 3:20:00 | 3:50:00 | 3:50:00 |
| 55–59 | 3:30:00 | 4:00:00 | 4:00:00 |
| 60–64 | 3:50:00 | 4:20:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 65–69 | 4:05:00 | 4:35:00 | 4:35:00 |
| 70–74 | 4:20:00 | 4:50:00 | 4:50:00 |
| 75–79 | 4:35:00 | 5:05:00 | 5:05:00 |
| 80+ | 4:50:00 | 5:20:00 | 5:20:00 |
These standards are five minutes faster than the ones used for the 2020 to 2025 races for every age group under 60. The B.A.A. announced that change on September 16, 2024, and it took effect with the 2026 race. Standards for 60 and over did not change.
Boston Marathon qualifying times for women
Women's standards run 30 minutes slower than men's in every age group, from 3:25:00 for women 18–34 to 5:20:00 for women 80 and over. The non-binary standard is identical to the women's standard in every age group.
What pace is a BQ?
Here is the even pace each standard works out to, computed from 26.2188 miles (42.195 km) and rounded to the nearest second. Some round up, so treat each pace as a ceiling and run a second or two faster. They also assume you run exactly the measured distance. Weaving through the crowd or taking corners wide adds distance, so your watch pace may need to be a touch faster.
| Standard | Pace per mile | Pace per km | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:55:00 | 6:40 | 4:09 | Men 18–34 |
| 3:00:00 | 6:52 | 4:16 | Men 35–39 |
| 3:05:00 | 7:03 | 4:23 | Men 40–44 |
| 3:15:00 | 7:26 | 4:37 | Men 45–49 |
| 3:20:00 | 7:38 | 4:44 | Men 50–54 |
| 3:25:00 | 7:49 | 4:52 | Women and non-binary 18–34 |
| 3:30:00 | 8:01 | 4:59 | Men 55–59; women and non-binary 35–39 |
| 3:35:00 | 8:12 | 5:06 | Women and non-binary 40–44 |
| 3:45:00 | 8:35 | 5:20 | Women and non-binary 45–49 |
| 3:50:00 | 8:46 | 5:27 | Men 60–64; women and non-binary 50–54 |
| 4:00:00 | 9:09 | 5:41 | Women and non-binary 55–59 |
| 4:05:00 | 9:21 | 5:48 | Men 65–69 |
| 4:20:00 | 9:55 | 6:10 | Men 70–74; women and non-binary 60–64 |
| 4:35:00 | 10:29 | 6:31 | Men 75–79; women and non-binary 65–69 |
| 4:50:00 | 11:04 | 6:52 | Men 80+; women and non-binary 70–74 |
| 5:05:00 | 11:38 | 7:14 | Women and non-binary 75–79 |
| 5:20:00 | 12:12 | 7:35 | Women and non-binary 80+ |
For every other goal time, the marathon pace chart has the full table.
How the qualifying window works
You can't use any marathon you've ever run. Each Boston Marathon has a qualifying window, and only times run inside it count. According to the B.A.A.:
- The window for the 2027 race opened on September 13, 2025. Qualifier registration for 2027 is closed.
- The window for the 2028 race opened on September 19, 2026.
The B.A.A.'s qualifying page doesn't say when the 2028 window closes. Check baa.org before you pick a qualifying race late in the window.
The Boston Marathon cutoff time
Meeting your standard lets you apply. Registration isn't first-come, first-served: if more qualified runners apply than the field can hold, the B.A.A. accepts the fastest applicants relative to the standard for their age and gender group.
The cutoff is how far under your standard you needed to be to get in. For 2027 it was 5 minutes 17 seconds, and 8,019 qualifiers were not accepted. To put that in clock time (our arithmetic, not a B.A.A. figure): 5:17 under a 2:55:00 standard is 2:49:43, and 5:17 under a 3:25:00 standard is 3:19:43. The B.A.A. states the cutoff only as time under the standard, so treat those as an illustration of the margin, not as official times.
Qualifiers whose times weren't faster than the cutoff are automatically eligible for the Boston Qualifier Selection, a random draw of about 1,000 qualifiers. The B.A.A. says your chance of being picked depends on how many qualifier applications it receives.
Boston Marathon cutoff times by year
This is the B.A.A.'s own history of the cutoff. There is no 2013 row in its table.
| Race year | Field size | Cutoff (time under standard) | Qualifiers not accepted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 27,000 | 1:14 | 3,228 |
| 2014 | 36,000 | 1:38 | 2,976 |
| 2015 | 30,000 | 1:02 | 1,947 |
| 2016 | 30,000 | 2:28 | 4,562 |
| 2017 | 30,000 | 2:09 | 2,957 |
| 2018 | 30,000 | 3:23 | 5,062 |
| 2019 | 30,000 | 4:52 | 7,248 |
| 2020 | 31,500 | 1:39 | 3,161 |
| 2021 | 20,000 | 7:47 | 9,215 |
| 2022 | 30,000 | 0:00 | 0 |
| 2023 | 30,000 | 0:00 | 0 |
| 2024 | 30,000 | 5:29 | 11,039 |
| 2025 | 30,000 | 6:51 | 12,324 |
| 2026 | 30,000 | 4:34 | 8,887 |
| 2027 | 30,000 | 5:17 | 8,019 |
Two things stand out. The cutoff moves a lot from year to year, from zero in 2022 and 2023 to 7:47 for the smaller 2021 field. And even after the standards got five minutes faster for 2026, applicants still needed more than four and a half minutes in hand. Nobody knows the next cutoff until the B.A.A. announces it after qualifier registration.
Which marathons count as a qualifier
Not every 26.2-mile race is accepted. Per the B.A.A., a qualifying time has to be:
- A full marathon on a certified course. The course must be certified by USA Track & Field, AIMS or the national governing body of the host country.
- A real race. It needs at least three officially entered competitors, advance promotion, an outdoor course and transponder timing (or check-sheets with video if it isn't chip-timed). Indoor, virtual, treadmill, time-trial and handicapped marathons don't count, and neither do shorter races.
- Your net (chip) time. Times are checked before acceptance, and verification can take several days.
Starting with registration for the 2027 race, steep downhill courses get time added to your result. The B.A.A. measures net downhill as the difference in elevation between the start and the finish:
| Net downhill | Added to your time |
|---|---|
| 1,500–2,999 ft | 5:00 |
| 3,000–5,999 ft | 10:00 |
| 6,000 ft or more | Not accepted for qualifying |
The marathon leg of an Ironman can count, but only if it's officially timed and on a certified course.
How to plan a qualifying race
A few practical points follow directly from the rules above.
Aim under the standard, not at it. For the 2024 to 2027 races the cutoff was between 4:34 and 6:51, so a time that only just meets your standard has had to rely on the random selection. How big a cushion you aim for is your call, but a plan built around running the standard to the second leaves no room for a warm day or a slow mile.
Check your age group for the right race day. If you'll have a birthday between your qualifier and the Boston Marathon you're applying for, you may move into an older, slower standard. The B.A.A. goes by your age on Boston race day.
Pick a certified course and know its elevation. A fast-looking downhill race can end up with 5 or 10 minutes added, or not count at all.
Pace it evenly. Going out too fast is the classic way to miss a BQ by a few minutes. Our marathon splits calculator gives mile-by-mile targets for even or negative splits, and the 16-week marathon training plan is built for a time goal.
If your current time is a long way from your standard, it helps to know where you stand. Our guide to the average marathon time puts the standards in context: for most age groups, a BQ is far faster than the typical finisher runs.
Once you have a time, confirm the current rules and registration dates on baa.org before you apply.
Questions runners ask
What is the Boston Marathon qualifying time?
It depends on your age on race day and your gender. For the 2027 and 2028 races the fastest standards are 2:55:00 for men 18–34 and 3:25:00 for women and non-binary runners 18–34, and they get more generous with each age group up to 80 and over.
Does running a BQ guarantee entry to the Boston Marathon?
No. A qualifying time only lets you apply. When there are more qualified applicants than places, the B.A.A. accepts the fastest runners relative to their standard; for the 2027 race the cutoff was 5 minutes 17 seconds.
What was the Boston Marathon cutoff time for 2027?
5 minutes 17 seconds, according to the B.A.A. Qualifiers whose times were not faster than the cutoff were eligible for the random Boston Qualifier Selection of about 1,000 runners.
Which age do I use for my Boston qualifying time?
Your age on the day of the Boston Marathon you are applying for, not your age on the day you ran the qualifier. The B.A.A. lists those dates as April 19, 2027 and April 17, 2028.
Can I qualify for Boston on a downhill course?
Only within limits. Starting with registration for the 2027 race, the B.A.A. adds 5 minutes to times from courses with 1,500–2,999 feet of net downhill and 10 minutes for 3,000–5,999 feet, and courses with 6,000 feet or more of net downhill don't count.
Sources
General information, not medical advice. Race rules change: check your race's official website before race day.
