The Boston Athletic Association announced on Monday that it received 33,656 time qualifier entry applications during the week-long registration period for the 2027 Boston Marathon last week.
The application period began last week for those who met the time standard for next year’s race, which will be April 19, 2027 on Patriots’ Day and will be how the bulk of those chosen to participate will make it to the start line in Hopkinton.
“All around the world, athletes have circled Patriots’ Day and the 131st Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America on their running calendars, hoping to participate in the world’s oldest annual marathon,” Jack Fleming, president and CEO of the BAA said. “We’re excited to welcome future Boston Marathoners into the race soon.”
The registration process is not guaranteed entry even if qualifiers meet the standard and those who applied will be subject to the yearly cut-off that will inevitably leave thousands of runners with no bib next year.
For this year’s race, which was held on April 20, the BAA reported that 24,362 people were selected as time standard applicants and the rest of the field was made up of charity runners. It meant that 8,887 qualifiers were not accepted, with the cutoff at 4:34 faster than their qualifying standard.
Meanwhile, the field is expected to remain around 30,000 participants and those selected will be notified in October if they were selected for next year’s race.
For 2027, the BAA will offer a second chance, of sorts, for those who miss the time cutoff and select 1,000 random people from the qualifier pool as part of next year’s field. The move was announced in July and is somewhat of a consolation to a few runners who simply will not make the yet-to-be-announced cut-off.
“The Boston Marathon annually welcomes the highest performing athletes, and we are internationally known for our qualifying standards,” Fleming said. “With the increasingly fast times in our sport, our random Boston Qualifier Selection gives all those who have met the standard for their age group a chance to run Boston.”
Another chance that will impact next year’s race is how BAA weighs the standard of qualifying races of different elevation. The organization revealed in June that races with 1,500 feet or more of net elevation loss gives runners a major advantage and will adjust those submitted finish times with a five-minute increase once officials review the results.
ten minutes will be added onto times with 3,000 to 5,999 feet and any race with more than 6,000 feet or elevation drops will not be considered as a Boston qualifier.
