To apply through the qualifier route, run the official standard for your age on race day and gender category, or faster, during the qualifying window. Use official net or chip time and add any required net-downhill adjustment before comparing. Meeting the standard lets you apply; it does not guarantee acceptance.
Qualifier registration is scheduled for 14–18 September 2026 in Athletes’ Village. Applications close at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 18 September. The process is not first come, first served.
Qualifying window
The B.A.A. says the 2027 window opened on 13 September 2025 and remains open through the 2027 registration week.
These are the B.A.A.’s published maximum finish times. A result must be equal to or faster than the applicable time after any required downhill adjustment. Compare with the current official table.
Official 2027 Boston Marathon open-division standards
Age on race day
Men
Women
Nonbinary
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
Para athletics standards and registration rules are published separately by the B.A.A.; use the official qualification page for the category that applies to you.
Standard, application and acceptance are different
1
Meet the standard
Your adjusted official time is at or under the standard for your race-day age and gender category.
2
Apply
Submit during the published window. The B.A.A. verifies qualifying performances and ranks valid applicants.
3
Receive a decision
The field cut-off is known only after applications are received. Meeting the standard alone is not acceptance.
Until the decision arrives, describe a result as “meets the standard by 3:00,” for example, rather than “accepted by 3:00.” Pre-verification, a payment pre-authorisation or an application receipt is not an acceptance notice.
Net-downhill adjustment for 2027 qualifiers
The B.A.A. applies a time adjustment according to the course’s total net elevation drop from start to finish. Add the adjustment to the official finish time before comparing it with the standard. Net drop compares the start and finish elevations; it is not the course’s cumulative ascent or descent. Check the official downhill policy.
2027 qualifying-course downhill treatment
Net drop
B.A.A. treatment
Under 1,500 ft
No adjustment specified by this policy
1,500–2,999 ft
Add 5:00
3,000–5,999 ft
Add 10:00
6,000 ft or more
Not eligible as a qualifier
Worked examples
Use race-day age
A woman runs 3:34:00 at age 39 and turns 40 before 19 April 2027. Her Boston category is 40–44, with a 3:35:00 standard. On a course requiring no adjustment, she meets the standard by 1:00.
Add the downhill adjustment
A 35-year-old man runs 2:56:30 on a course with 2,000 ft of net drop. Adding 5:00 gives 3:01:30. His 35–39 standard is 3:00:00, so this performance misses it by 1:30.
Standard is not acceptance
A 52-year-old nonbinary runner records 3:47:00 on a course below the adjustment threshold. The 50–54 standard is 3:50:00, so they meet it by 3:00 and may apply. The eventual field cut-off remains unknown; if the time is not faster than it, the application enters the announced random selection.
Check that the race itself is eligible
The result must come from a certified outdoor full marathon. In the US, the course must be certified by USATF; outside the US, the B.A.A. accepts AIMS certification or the national governing body’s equivalent. Shorter races, indoor marathons, virtual races, time trials and treadmill marathons do not qualify. The B.A.A. reviews every submitted result and course.
Use the RaceIndex Boston qualifier marathon finder to make a shortlist, then confirm certification and result reporting with the race and the B.A.A. before entering.
Before you submit
Use your age on 19 April 2027 to select the row.
Use the official net or chip time, not a watch time.
Confirm the marathon and course certification.
Apply the B.A.A. net-downhill adjustment where required.
Apply in Athletes’ Village by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 18 September 2026.
Wait for the B.A.A. decision before treating the place as accepted.