How to Get Into the Boston Marathon

Boston is the one major marathon where most of the field earns its place with a time. The race takes 30,000 official entrants, and for 2027, 25,630 of them came through qualifying: 24,630 who beat their standard by enough to make the cutoff and 1,000 more drawn at random from those who didn’t (B.A.A.). The rest of the field comes through charity teams, international tour operators and invitational entries.

Registration for the 2027 race closed on September 18, 2026, and the qualifying window for 2028 is open now. This is how each route works, what it costs and when it opens.

Qualifying

You need a time under the standard for your age and gender, from a certified marathon run inside the qualifying window, and you have to be at least 18 on race day (B.A.A.). For the 2028 race, the window opened on September 19, 2026 and runs through registration week in September 2027 (B.A.A.). The Boston qualifying guide has the full chart of standards, the pace each one asks for and the adjustments for net-downhill courses.

Registration week

Qualifiers apply during a single week each September. For 2027 it ran from September 14 to 5 p.m. Eastern on September 18, 2026. It isn’t first come, first served. After registration closes, the B.A.A. verifies every time and ranks applicants by how far under their standard they ran, then accepts the fastest in each age group until the qualifier places are full. The margin of the last runner accepted becomes the cutoff, and applicants hear by early October (B.A.A.).

For 2027, 33,649 qualifiers applied and the cutoff was 5:17, so 8,019 runners who beat their standard still didn’t get in (B.A.A.). The entry fee was $270, charged only once you’re accepted, and registration protection is offered when you apply (Boston 25 News). Without that protection, entries can’t be refunded, transferred or deferred, apart from the B.A.A.’s pregnancy and postpartum policy (B.A.A.).

The Boston Qualifier Selection

For 2027, the B.A.A. added a random draw for qualifiers who beat their standard but missed the cutoff. There’s no separate application, since everyone in that group is entered automatically, and about 1,000 runners are drawn (B.A.A.). In the first year, about 9,000 qualifiers were in the pool, so the odds were roughly one in nine. It’s worth applying even if you think your margin is too small, but it’s not a plan to train around.

Charity

Charity teams are the main way in without a qualifying time. The B.A.A. gives entries to nonprofits rather than to runners, and a record 215 organizations received them for 2027, the first time the program has passed 200 (B.A.A.). You apply to the charity, not the race, and each one sets its own fundraising minimum and timeline. The B.A.A. sets no minimum of its own, and the largest teams ask for $10,000 to $15,000, with Boston Children’s Hospital at $10,000 and the American Heart Association at $15,000 (Marathon Handbook).

Charity runners raised a record $57.3 million around the 2026 race, and more than $675 million has been raised since the program began in 1989 (B.A.A.). The B.A.A. also runs its own team, B.A.A. Gives Back, which opened applications on September 14 and notifies applicants by October 31, 2026 (B.A.A.). If you’ve already qualified, some charities and the B.A.A.’s team take qualified runners who want to fundraise, with a lower commitment since the entry doesn’t come from the charity’s allocation (Marathon Handbook).

International tour operators

Runners who live outside the U.S. can get an entry through the B.A.A.’s International Tour Program. Operators sell entries mainly to residents of their own country, each runner still registers individually, and the B.A.A. lists the approved operators by region (B.A.A.). If you live in the U.S., this route isn’t open to you.

Which route fits you

The timeline

• September 14 to 18, 2026: Qualifier registration for 2027 (closed)

• September 19, 2026: Qualifying window for 2028 opened

• September 29, 2026: Acceptances and the 5:17 cutoff announced

• October 31, 2026: B.A.A. Gives Back team decisions

• April 19, 2027: Race day, the 131st Boston Marathon

• September 2027: Qualifier registration for 2028, dates to be announced

The Boston Marathon page on the Race Calendar tracks these dates, and subscribing puts them on your calendar.

Getting ready once you’re in

April 19 is about six and a half months after acceptances went out, and a typical 18-week plan starts in mid-December. How to Choose a Marathon Training Plan walks through the main options, the long run guide covers the workout that matters most, and the race week guide covers the last seven days.

Once you’ve picked a goal, the Pace Lab turns it into a pace and a full set of splits, with goal pages from 3:00 to 6:00. If you’re chasing a qualifier for 2028, the VDOT calculator turns a recent race into the training paces to get there.

FAQ

How do you get into the Boston Marathon without qualifying?

Through an official charity team, which you apply to directly and which sets its own fundraising minimum, usually $10,000 or more. Runners who live outside the U.S. can also buy an entry through an official tour operator.

When is Boston Marathon registration?

Once a year, for a single week in September. Registration for 2027 ran from September 14 to 18, 2026, and registration for 2028 will be in September 2027.

What was the 2027 Boston Marathon cutoff?

5:17. Qualifiers had to run 5 minutes and 17 seconds faster than their standard to be accepted on time.

How does the Boston Qualifier Selection work?

If you qualify, apply and miss the cutoff, you’re entered automatically in a random draw for about 1,000 places. In its first year, the odds were about one in nine.

How much does it cost to run the Boston Marathon?

The 2027 entry fee for accepted qualifiers was $270. Charity entries come with a fundraising minimum set by each charity, commonly $10,000 to $15,000.

How many people run the Boston Marathon?

The field is set at 30,000 official entrants.