Boston Marathon
Event Details
When: April 21, 2025 (Patriots' Day, the third Monday of the month)
Season: Spring
Travel Difficulty: Moderate – Boston is well-connected, but accommodations fill up quickly, so book early.
Event website: https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon
Considerations: Boston is the only World Major Marathon requiring a qualifying time for most entrants. If you’re aiming to qualify, plan your race strategy around hitting the standards.
Race Profile
Distance: 42.195 km / 26.2 miles
Elevation gain: Has an elevation gain of 815 ft (248 m) and a descent of 1275 ft (389 m). The course starts with a few miles of mostly downhill running, then undulates until the Newton Hills.
Difficulty: Challenging – Known for its rolling hills, including the infamous Heartbreak Hill at mile 20.
Participants: Approximately 30,000 runners
Registration & Lottery Information
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Current registration status: Closed
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Sign up window: September of the previous year.
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Qualification: Boston has stringent qualifying standards, varying by age and gender. Check out the time for your age and gender group below. Faster runners are prioritized.
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Ballot Odds: 0% - this marathon does not have ballot entries.
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Charity Entry: Limited and involves a high fundraising requirement.
2026 Boston Marathon Qualifying Times
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The qualifying times below are based upon each athlete's age on the date of the 2026 Boston Marathon (April 20, 2026).
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Qualifying times are based on official submitted net time (also known as chip time).
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Due to field size limitations, achieving one's qualifying standard does not guarantee entry into the event, but simply the opportunity to submit a registration application.
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In recent years, not all qualifiers who submit an entry have been accepted due to field size restrictions.
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If the total amount of submissions surpasses the allotted field size for qualified athletes, then those who are the fastest among the pool of applicants in their age and gender group will be accepted.
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Current qualifying standards for 2026 can be found below.
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The qualifying window for the 2026 Boston Marathon opened on September 1, 2024 and will run through the end of registration next fall (dates to be announced).
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Qualifying times may be used for multiple race registrations so long as the achieved qualifying time was run within the race's specified qualifying window.
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Participants will have the opportunity to purchase registration protection at the point of registration.
