Boston Marathon 2027: dates, entry and qualifier selection

Plan your race pace

The 131st edition of the Boston race will take place on Monday, April 19, 2027, starting in Hopkinton and finishing in Boston. Its main change for qualified runners is an additional random selection: after admitting runners with the fastest times relative to their standards, organizers plan to randomly select about 1,000 valid applicants who did not beat the entry cutoff.

The change does not make the race open to everyone, nor does meeting the qualifying standard guarantee a bib. Registration for athletes with a qualifying time ran from September 14 to 18, 2026, and the Boston Athletic Association said it received 33,656 applications. The window has closed; the information available here does not include the final cutoff or the outcome of each individual application.

Key dates and registration status

The race will be held on Patriots’ Day, the Massachusetts holiday on which the marathon has traditionally taken place. The 2027 edition will be the 131st and is scheduled for April 19, a date confirmed by the organizers. The course connects Hopkinton with Boston and is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, an international series featuring some of the best-known marathons.

For runners who had already earned a valid qualifying time, the application window was open for five days, from Monday, September 14, through Friday, September 18, 2026. The registration platform accepted applications until 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the final day. It was not a first-come, first-served registration: applying at the start or end of the window was not supposed to change an athlete’s priority for entry.

The organization said it would not reopen registration for qualified athletes for this edition. It also said acceptance and rejection notices would be sent by email in early October 2026. The information available for this article does not include the final review results, so it cannot confirm the entry cutoff or the status of a specific application. The number of applications received, by itself, does not show how many runners were accepted.

The new random selection and the entry cutoff

The system retains its usual competitive principle: a qualifying time allows a runner to submit an application, but does not guarantee a bib. After registration closes, the Boston Athletic Association verifies times and ranks runners according to how far they have beaten the standard for their age and category. Applications with the largest margin against the required time receive priority until the planned field is filled; the last accepted runner’s time determines the so-called cutoff.

For 2027, an additional opportunity is being added for some runners who meet the standard but fall short of that cutoff. The organization plans to select about 1,000 applicants through a random process. This is not a general lottery for people without a qualifying time. It is limited to athletes who submitted a valid application and whose time was not fast enough to gain entry through the main allocation process.

The chance of being selected will depend on the number of eligible applications received by the organization. The Boston Athletic Association warned that, because capacity is limited, not every runner with a qualifying time can be accepted. The new process therefore offers another option, but does not turn qualification into a guaranteed place or make it possible to calculate an individual applicant’s odds in advance.

The announcement follows years in which the growing number of fast athletes has made entry more competitive. For the 2027 edition, organizers received 33,656 qualifying applications, compared with 33,267 for the 2026 edition: an increase of 389. Applicants came from 129 countries and all 50 U.S. states. Those figures show the race’s international reach and the pressure on a system in which the number of valid times can exceed the available places.

Which qualifying times allow runners to apply

The standards published for this edition vary by age and gender category. For runners ages 18 to 34, the time is 2 hours, 55 minutes for men and 3 hours, 25 minutes for women and nonbinary participants. For ages 35 to 39, the limits are 3:00 and 3:30; for ages 40 to 44, they are 3:05 and 3:35. In each case, the first time applies to men and the second to women and nonbinary athletes.

In the following age groups, the standards continue to adjust with age. For ages 45 to 49, they are 3:15 for men and 3:45 for women and nonbinary runners; for ages 50 to 54, 3:20 and 3:50; and for ages 55 to 59, 3:30 and 4:00. For ages 60 to 64, the times become 3:50 and 4:20; for ages 65 to 69, 4:05 and 4:35; and for ages 70 to 74, 4:20 and 4:50.

The scale extends to the oldest age groups: for ages 75 to 79, the standards are 4:35 for men and 5:05 for women and nonbinary participants; from age 80, they are 4:50 and 5:20. Meeting one of these times only allows a runner to apply. Final admission depends on verification of the time, the applicant’s ranking relative to other runners and, for those who miss the cutoff, the new random selection.

The distinction between the standard and the cutoff is essential. The standard is the minimum time that allows someone to apply; the cutoff is known only after organizers have received and verified applications and determined how many runners can enter through the main system. For that reason, it would be misleading to present an estimate as the official cutoff. The final 2027 figure does not appear in the available reference information.

How times and downhill courses are reviewed

After registration closes, the organization verifies declared times and checks that applications meet entry requirements. It then compares performances with the relevant standard and ranks the athletes. The new random selection comes after that initial ranking, among eligible runners who did not have a large enough margin to gain direct entry. Time verification therefore remains central to the process; the draw is an additional, limited route.

For 2027 registration, organizers introduced time-index adjustments for the first time for performances on courses with a net elevation drop greater than 1,500 feet, or 457.2 meters. The aim is to account for course profile when evaluating a time, rather than treating results from very different courses as equivalent. The announcement confirms that adjustments apply to those times, but the information provided does not include a complete penalty table; specific figures should not be attributed to the policy unless they are available.

The organization also said the indexes for courses with a drop of 1,500 feet or more could change before registration for the 2028 edition. For athletes planning a qualifying time, that means a result is not evaluated solely by the clock: the race where it was achieved and its course profile must also meet the rules in force for the relevant edition.

The same caution applies to qualifying times used for future races. The qualifying window for 2028 opened on September 19, 2026, one day after the 2027 registration week ended, and will remain open until the 2028 registration week, expected in September 2027. The standards for that edition are the same as those announced for 2027, though downhill adjustments could be revised. According to the available information, exact 2028 registration dates had not yet been announced.

A historic race with a demanding course

The Boston Athletic Association has organized the race since 1897, making it the world’s oldest annual marathon. The 2027 edition will be the 131st. That legacy sits alongside a highly selective modern entry process: qualifying times are part of the race’s identity, and international demand means that meeting the standard is not always enough to secure a place.

The course is point to point, beginning in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and finishing in Boston. Its net downhill profile might suggest a favorable race, but the route is not a continuous descent. It alternates between downhill stretches, rolling sections and climbs; the opening miles can require muscular control, while the final portion includes the well-known Newton hills, including Heartbreak Hill. The overall elevation change does not tell the whole story of the course.

Among its most recognizable scenes is the passage through Wellesley, where crowd support accompanies runners through the middle portion, and the finish on Boylston Street. For spectators, these places are part of the race’s image; for participants, they mark different stages of a long effort in which terrain and accumulated miles change the demands on the body. April weather can also vary, so general climate references are no substitute for a forecast specific to race day.

The event is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors alongside other major international races. That affiliation increases its visibility but does not erase its distinct character: Boston retains an entry system based mainly on qualifying times, while the 2027 change introduces random selection only among applicants who have already met the standard. The race’s prestige and difficulty of entry are closely tied to that filter, not to an open, first-come registration.

What to know now that registration has closed

For the 2027 edition, the application period is over. Runners who applied were due to wait for individual notices from the organization, expected in early October, and the reference information does not specify which applicants received a place or what the final cutoff was. It also does not provide a verifiable entry fee: figures listed by third-party pages conflict, so it would be unwise to present any one of them as the official price.

Nor can the outcome of an application be inferred by comparing the number of applications with available places. The 33,656 figure includes applications that had to be verified, and the organization did not say that all applicants would automatically qualify for the random selection. An accredited time, a verified application and final acceptance are separate stages; confusing them can create expectations the available data do not support.

The qualifying window for the next edition, in 2028, has been open since September 19, 2026. The reference times are the same as those used for the 2027 entry cycle, although the rules for courses with a substantial net downhill could change before registration. Organizers said they would announce dates and procedures later; the opening of the qualifying window should not be mistaken for the opening of applications for entry.

The 2027 change responds to a familiar tension in high-demand races: more athletes achieve demanding times than there are places available. The additional selection may ease some of that frustration, but its scope is specific and limited. Performance and available capacity remain the main route to entry; the random component adds an opportunity for some qualifiers who meet the standard but fall short of the cutoff.

What a place in Boston represents

This race’s history spans decades, but each edition poses a contemporary challenge: deciding how to distribute a limited number of places among thousands of runners with valid qualifying times. In 2027, that debate translates into a new rule, not the removal of the entry filter. The result will combine performance-based qualification with random selection reserved for runners who have already demonstrated that they meet the applicable standard.

The estimate of about 1,000 random places should be read as an announced plan, not a guarantee that all remaining candidates will take part. The organization itself said that not every applicant would be accepted because capacity is limited. Understanding the process means distinguishing between the estimated number of places, the actual volume of eligible applications and the final decision sent to each athlete.

It is also worth separating confirmed details from speculation about the cutoff. The race date, registration dates, total number of applications and introduction of the random selection are specified. By contrast, the reference information does not establish the 2027 entry cutoff, the official entry fee or the outcome for individual applicants. Keeping that distinction clear prevents predictions or figures from other sites from being mistaken for official decisions.

Boston therefore retains its dual identity for runners: a historic celebration of the marathon and a race where entry depends both on the time achieved and on competition for places. The new rule offers a second chance to a defined group, but does not remove that selectivity. The decisive factor remains how each verified application fits within the available field, as the organization communicates outcomes and prepares the rules for future editions.