Qualifying for the Boston Marathon has always been a challenge and a major accomplishment for those who hit their elusive BQ time. But now, the path to earning that Boston qualifier time has become even more daunting.
Following the registration week for the 2025 Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has announced a record number of entries for next year’s race. This led the organization to make serious adjustments to qualifying standards for the 2026 event.
For the 2025 race, which is set for April 21, a total of 36,406 qualifier applications were received, with athletes from all 50 U.S. states and 120 countries achieving the qualifying time standards. This marks the highest number of qualifying entries in the race’s history, far surpassing the 33,058 applications for the 2024 marathon.
B.A.A. President and CEO Jack Fleming expressed excitement about the growing global interest in the race: “The record number of applicants indicates the growing trend of our sport and shows that athletes are continuously getting faster and faster. We look forward to welcoming 30,000 athletes in their pursuit of the finish line this April, and we are already planning for a memorable event experience from start to finish.”
Despite the record number of entries, not all qualifiers will be accepted due to field size limitations. The B.A.A. will verify all submitted times over the coming weeks, with the athletes being accepted based on the fastest times and will be notified of their status by early October. During the 2024 marathon registration, 22,019 runners were accepted while 11,039 were turned away.
As a result, the B.A.A. has announced an adjustment to qualifying standards for the 2026 race.
Athletes aged 18-59 will face a five-minute tightening of qualifying times. This change reflects the growing speed of marathon runners and the increasing demand for entry. Since 1970, the Boston Marathon has used qualifying times as the basis for entry, and the standards have been periodically adjusted to reflect participation trends.
“As we have witnessed in recent years, the sport of marathoning is growing and athletes continue to get faster,” said Fleming.
“At the same time, demand to participate in the Boston Marathon has steadily grown as well, and unfortunately in recent years we’ve had to turn away thousands of runners who’ve achieved Boston Marathon qualifying times. After a careful analysis of results data, we have adjusted the qualifying standards by five minutes for the 2026 Boston Marathon for athletes under the age of 60.
“Every time the B.A.A. has adjusted qualifying standards – most recently in 2019 – we’ve seen athletes continue to raise the bar and elevate to new levels. In recent years we’ve turned away athletes in this age range (18-59) at the highest rate, and the adjustment reflects both the depth of participation and speed at which athletes are running.”
The new qualifying standards for the 2026 marathon, which opens for registration in September 2025, apply only to runners under the age of 60. Standards for Para Athletics, the Adaptive Program, wheelchair, handcycle, and duo programs remain unchanged.
2026 Boston Marathon Qualifying Times
| Age Group | Men’s Standard | Women’s Standard | Non-Binary Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
I ran Boston every year from 1985 to 2001. In the early years the qual time was 2:50 for men under 40and 3:10 for 40-50 with 3:20 for open woman.Making the Boston qulaifying time was a big deal and even if you made it by just 1 sec. you were in. This turning away qualified runners is unfair.There was so much joy in the past if you got your qualifying time because you knew you were in ,Now they say you have to run 5-7 min faster to insure you are accepted. If you want to reduce the field size just make the times harder but if a runner gets that time he or she is in! I see you are doing that for 2026 but the field size now is ridiculous.My 1st Boston in 1985 we fit the whole field into the gym in Hopkinton HS. I remember a BAA official telling me in the late 80’s that the maximum field size that the course can handle is 9-10,000 max. In 96 we had a field of 26,000 for the 100th and that was ridiculous.Tighten up the standards until you get a much smaller field and get back to the elite experience that Boston used to be!