2027 Boston Marathon Registration Dates Announced

The Boston Marathon recently announced that the registration window for the 2027 race will open from September 14 to 18 this year — a five-day period for qualifying runners to register — and the race date will be set for April 19, 2027.

At the same time, the newly added qualifier lottery this year has attracted strong attention: anyone who has met their age-and-gender BQ standard but whose time did not beat the cut-off will automatically be entered into a random selection. Boston is expected to see another surge in registrations.

Boston registration opens

New system draws attention

The Boston Athletic Association officially announced that the 131st Boston Marathon will begin on April 19, 2027. The registration period for qualifiers will be September 14–18, 2026 (five days), and it is not first-come, first-served — the application deadline is Beijing time 5:00 a.m. on September 19.

At that time, all qualifying applicants must complete their submissions on the official 'Athletes' Village' platform.

Qualified but missed the cut

Lottery for around 1,000 lucky runners

The biggest change this year is the introduction of the "Boston Qualifier Selection" mechanism. Previously, applicants whose times did not meet the cut-off time were simply rejected.

Starting in 2027, anyone who has met their age-and-gender qualifying standard (Qualifying Standard) but whose time did not beat the cut-off will automatically be entered into an additional random selection. Approximately 1,000 lucky runners are expected to gain entry this way.

The Boston Athletic Association says the move is intended to give all legitimately qualified runners a chance to realize their dream, rather than deciding purely by seconds. The odds of selection will depend on the total number of applicants that year, and because spots are limited, not everyone will be selected.

In 2025 the Boston cutoff reached 6 minutes 51 seconds, leaving over 12,000 qualifying runners rejected. Even though BQ standards were tightened by five minutes across the board for 2026, there were still 33,249 qualifying applications. Ultimately 24,362 were accepted and the cutoff was 4 minutes 34 seconds, leaving 8,887 BQ runners without a spot.

The new lottery is intended to address this growing supply-and-demand imbalance.

Downhill course times

Adjusted and re-ranked for the first time

In recent years there have been frequent reports of runners chasing fast times on downhill courses. The Boston Athletic Association has also announced that the 2027 registration will for the first time introduce "time index adjustments".

Any qualifying time achieved on a course with a net elevation drop exceeding 1,500 feet (457.2 m) will be adjusted before being ranked. Downhill courses with a net drop of 1,500 to 2,999 feet will have 5 minutes added, and those with 3,000 to 5,999 feet will have 10 minutes added.

This measure is intended to ensure applicants from different types of courses compete on a fair basis.

Results announced in October

2028 window opens immediately afterward

All applicants will be notified of acceptance or rejection in early October 2026. Before then, runners can start paying attention to the 2028 Boston Marathon qualifying window (Qualifying Window). That window will open on September 19, 2026, and runners can begin accumulating qualifying times for the 2028 race. The window will remain open until the end of the registration week in September 2027.

[Reader poll]

#Will you sign up for next year's Boston?#

Text/Editor: Jim

Image source: 跑野大爆炸

Visuals: Max

RUNYEAH 跑野大爆炸

2027 Boston Marathon Registration Dates Announced — 1,000 New Slots Added