The 2023 Boston Marathon is just around the corner. The 127th edition of the most prestigious marathon in the world is set to again be a very popular race for runners all over the world. Every year thousands of runners descend to the hallowed streets of Boston for a chance to take part in this historic race. While the gun will not go off in Hopkinton until Monday, April 17th, 2023, registration for the race takes place in September. The Boston Athletic Administration (B.A.A.) has recently published the qualifying standards and registration window for the 2023 race. I have all of the details waiting for you below!
How To Qualify For the 2023 Boston Marathon
Unlike most marathons in the world, you are not able to simply register for the Boston Marathon. Every since 1970, a “qualifying standard” has been required to enter the race. The qualifying time one must run has fluctuated over the years. Therefore, regular checking of the standards is important for anyone looking to qualifying for the race. There are 2 important pieces of information you need to be aware of before attempting your qualification: the qualifying window and your qualifying standard.
2023 Boston Marathon Qualifying Window
Runners must complete a marathon on a certified course prior to the qualifying window closing. If you have not raced during the qualifying window, then you will be ineligible to register for the race. There is no preference given to any particular race. The only stipulation is that it has been run on a certified course. Per the B.A.A. website, the race course must be certified by USATF or AIMS. Use this link to look at the full list of rules for ensuring your course is certified. Most of the races that are not certified are extreme adventure courses.
For the 2023 Boston Marathon, the qualifying window began on September 1, 2021. It will then end on September 16, 2022. This means that you must have run a qualifying time within those dates to be able to submit a registration. Below I will list the standards that you must run your time under depending on age and gender. Looking ahead to the 2024 Boston Marathon, the qualifying window will begin on September 1, 2022 and end mid September, 2023.
2023 Boston Marathon Qualifying Standard
The below table shows the qualifying standards needed for entry into the 2023 Boston Marathon. You will have to submit a link to a verifiable race result for the B.A.A. to allow entry into the race. To determine your qualifying standard, use your age that you will be on the day of the race.
| Age Group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 18-34 | 3:00 | 3:30 |
| 35-39 | 3:05 | 3:35 |
| 40-44 | 3:10 | 3:40 |
| 45-49 | 3:20 | 3:50 |
| 50-54 | 3:25 | 3:55 |
| 55-59 | 3:35 | 4:05 |
| 60-64 | 3:50 | 4:20 |
| 65-69 | 4:05 | 4:35 |
| 70-74 | 4:20 | 4:50 |
| 75-79 | 4:35 | 5:05 |
| 80 and Over | 4:50 | 5:20 |
Usually, if you are able to run a faster time than your qualifying standard you will be able to enter the race the following year. However, in recent years, the number of people achieving qualifying times has been steadily rising. Since 2012, there have been many runners who have had unfortunately been cut off from the race due to field size restrictions. The Boston Marathon only has a capacity of around 30,000 runners. As a result, if they receive more entrants than that they will cut off the ones that are the least amount under their qualifying standard. 2022 was the exception, as their was just enough demand that the organizers were able to accept everyone who entered.
You can see below how many seconds you will be needing under your standard to ensure entrance. 2021 was the roughest year with 9,215 runners (myself included!) not making it into the race. You had to be a whopping 7 minutes and 47 seconds under your qualification time.
The Registration Window
Registration will take place for the 127th Boston Marathon over five days. The dates are: September 12th thru September 16th, 2022. The race used to be first come first serve registration, but it is now less stressful as you have any of those 5 days to submit you information. Typically it takes a couple weeks for the organizers to complete the verifications needed to determine the field. You will receive an email either way indicating your race status.
In conclusion, you have about 2 months from now to get your qualifying time finalized if you are desiring to run the 2023 Boston Marathon. Registration week will come fast, so make sure you are prepared and do your research! If you are looking for some advice on how to train and qualify for the race, check out this post.
