BOSTON—The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today began notifying qualified applicants of their acceptance into the 131st Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America. The race will be run on Monday, April 19, 2027.
Qualifiers who were 5 minutes, 17 seconds (5:17) or faster than the qualifying time for their age group and gender have been accepted into the 131st Boston Marathon. A total of 25,630 qualified applicants have been accepted to date or are in the process of being accepted, pending final verification of their qualifying performance. Email notices to athletes accepted and not accepted will continue through the coming days.
New for 2027, the B.A.A. has incorporated a Boston Qualifier Selection, an additional random selection component specifically for applicants whose qualifying times were not faster than the 5 minute, 17 second cut-off. A total of 1,000 qualifiers are in the process of being randomly selected for entry and will be notified of their acceptance over the coming days. More information on the Boston Qualifier Selection can be found here.
“The Boston Athletic Association looks forward to welcoming thousands of qualifiers who are officially now entrants into the Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America on Monday, April 19,” said Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the B.A.A. “To earn a spot into this race takes dedication and resiliency, and the number of marathoners world-wide only continues to grow. Although we are unable to accept all applicants, we want to recognize each and every athlete who trains and aspires to participate in the Boston Marathon.”
An updated total of 33,649 qualifier applications were received during registration week (Sept. 14-18). The Boston Marathon field size is set at 30,000 official entrants.
Registration facts and statistics can be found below. The remainder of the Boston Marathon field will consist of invitational entrants, including runners participating as part of the Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program, as well as invited professional athletes and Para athletes.
A history of qualifying times and past registration acceptance information can be found here.
131st BOSTON MARATHON QUALIFIER REGISTRATION BY THE NUMBERS:
All statistics are preliminary and are subject to change during the verification process.
- 33,649 applications were received during the registration period for qualifiers
- 25,630 qualified applicants have been accepted to date or are in the process of being accepted, pending verification of their qualifying performance.
- 24,630 qualified applicants have been accepted based on a qualifying time faster than 5 minutes, 17 seconds under their age group standard.
- 1,000 additional qualified applicants are in the process of being selected based on the Boston Qualifier Selection.
- 8,019 qualifier applicants were unable to be accepted into the 131st Boston Marathon.
- This year’s ‘Cut-Off’ time needed to gain acceptance into the Boston Marathon was 5 minutes, 17 seconds or faster (5:17) than the qualifying time for each respective age group and gender.
The following statistics are based on those whose qualifying times were faster than the 5:17 cut-off and does not include athletes in the process of being accepted based on the Boston Qualifier Selection.
- This year’s qualified field includes 13,898 men, 10,641 women, and 91 non-binary athletes so far.
- Citizens of 120 countries have been accepted into the 131st Boston Marathon.
- Residents of all 50 U.S. states (plus Washington, DC and additional U.S. territories) were accepted into the 131st Boston Marathon.
- The top five most popular qualifying races were the 2026 Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America (4,448 entrants), 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon (2,043 entrants), 2025 TCS New York City Marathon (826 entrants), 2025 California International Marathon (812 entrants), and 2026 TCS London Marathon (610 entrants).
- Approximately 10,745 athletes will be racing their first Boston Marathon.
- The youngest and oldest accepted athletes are 18 and 84 years old, respectively.
- 1,498 Massachusetts residents are entered in the Boston Marathon.
- 215 athletes achieved their respective Para Athletics Division qualifying standards to gain entry.
- 849 athletes have been accepted based on completing at least 10+ consecutive Boston Marathons or qualifying as part of the B.A.A. Running Club.
- 240 Qualifying Times were accepted from events that incurred a net-downhill index.
A list of frequently asked registration questions can be found below.
The next B.A.A. event will be the 2026 Boston Half presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund on Sunday, November 8.
Frequently Asked Questions for Athletes
When will official notices of acceptances and non-acceptances be emailed?
Notices of acceptance or non-acceptance have begun to be issued and will continue through the coming days.
When will credit cards be charged? My credit card has been charged/it appears entry fees have been withdrawn from my bank. What does this mean?
Credit cards will be charged upon acceptance. Upon submission of an athlete’s application, their credit card has been authorized for payment. If an application is accepted, only then will the credit card be charged the non-refundable, non-transferable, and non-deferrable entry fee. Athletes may notice a preauthorization draft on a credit card statement. The actual charge will not appear on the credit card until their entry has been verified and accepted. Only athletes who are accepted into the Boston Marathon will be charged the entry fee.
Will 131st Boston Marathon registration re-open to qualifiers?
Registration for the 131st Boston Marathon was open from September 14-18 for all qualified athletes and will not re-open. Registration information for the 132nd Boston Marathon will be announced after the conclusion of the 2027 event.
When does registration for the 132nd Boston Marathon open?
Registration information for the 132nd Boston Marathon will be announced following the conclusion of the 131st race. The 2028 qualifying window began on September 19, 2026, and qualifying standards can be found here.
I still want to participate in the 131st Boston Marathon. What can I do?
Organizations who are part of the Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program will begin accepting applications for next April’s race later this fall. Athletes interested in fundraising as part of a charity program are encouraged to contact the nonprofit or charity organization directly for more information.
ABOUT THE BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A. manages the Boston Marathon, and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round programming. The 131st Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America will be held on Monday, April 19, 2027.
The Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, along with international marathons in Tokyo, London, Cape Town, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. For more information on the B.A.A., please visit www.baa.org.