09/15/2026
Registration for the 131st Boston Marathon opens today at 10 a.m. ET and closes Friday at 5 p.m. ET.
Applying at 10:01 buys nothing. The Boston Athletic Association collects the full week of applications, verifies the times, and ranks everyone by how far under their age and gender standard they ran.
Two things are different this year.
For the first time, downhill qualifying times get a penalty. Courses with 1,500 to 2,999 feet of net drop get +5:00 added to the submitted time. Courses with 3,000 to 5,999 feet get +10:00. Anything above 6,000 feet of drop is not accepted at all.
A 3:00:00 qualifier at a 3,500-foot drop course becomes a 3:10:00 on the application. If that pushes the runner over their standard, they cannot apply.
The second change is a random draw. About 1,000 entries will go to runners who hit their standard but miss the cutoff. It is the first time in the modern era that missing the cutoff does not automatically end your Boston application.
Qualifying times had to come from a certified race run on or after September 13, 2025. Notifications go out in early October.
Race day is Monday, April 19, 2027.
š· Brennan Kauffman
