The 129th installment of the Boston Marathon takes place Monday and it’s one of the most competitive marathons to get in. You can’t just show up in the morning and decide you want to run. No, there’s an application process as well as qualifiers.
To compete in this year’s Boston Marathon, you had to produce a qualifying time between Sept. 1, 2023 and Sept. 13, 2024. Registration took place between Sept. 9 and Sept. 13, 2024. That’s all before you get your bib number and prepare for the actual race itself.
The Boston Marathon has been one of the most prestigious racing events to get into because of how difficult it is to qualify for it.
Here’s more about the process of how to get into the Boston Marathon, what you have to do to qualify and more about the most competitive race in the country.
How is the Boston Marathon field selected? Everything to know about how to qualify for the prestigious running event
Boston Marathon 2025 age group minimum qualifying times
AGE GROUP | MEN | WOMEN | NON-BINARY |
|---|---|---|---|
18-34 | 3 hr 00min 00sec | 3 hr 30min 00sec | 3 hr 30min 00sec |
35-39 | 3 hr 05min 00sec | 3 hr 35min 00sec | 3 hr 35min 00sec |
40-44 | 3 hr 10min 00sec | 3 hr 40min 00sec | 3 hr 40min 00sec |
45-49 | 3 hr 20min 00sec | 3 hr 50min 00sec | 3 hr 50min 00sec |
50-54 | 3 hr 25min 00sec | 3 hr 55min 00sec | 3 hr 55min 00sec |
55-59 | 3 hr 35min 00sec | 4 hr 05min 00sec | 4 hr 05min 00sec |
60-64 | 3 hr 50min 00sec | 4 hr 20min 00sec | 4 hr 20min 00sec |
65-69 | 4 hr 05min 00sec | 4 hr 35min 00sec | 4 hr 35min 00sec |
70-74 | 4 hr 20min 00sec | 4 hr 50min 00sec | 4 hr 50min 00sec |
75-79 | 4 hr 35min 00sec | 5 hr 05min 00sec | 5 hr 05min 00sec |
80 and over | 4 hr 50min 00sec | 5 hr 20min 00sec | 5 hr 20min 00sec |
What makes this race extremely hard to get into is the qualifying time and cut off.
This year there were 36,393 applicants for the Boston Marathon, 24,069 were accepted into the competition and 12,324 competitors could not be accepted.
The field also includes marathon partners through charities, sponsors, vendors, local running clubs, etc. About one-fifth of spots in each marathon go to runners who receive entries from those entities.
Since only 30,000 people can run, it’s possible that even if you meet the qualifying time, you may not get in, if there aren’t enough bid numbers. The time cut off for this year’s tournament was six minutes and 51 seconds faster than the minimum qualifying time for each respective age group.
The significance of the bid numbers and why they’re important at the Boston Marathon
The bid numbers are essentially the identification information of every racer competing in the race. They can’t be exchanged or duplicated. On the back of the bib number is medical contact information as well.
Each athlete that has qualified for the marathon will receive a pick-up pass via email, which will allow them to pick up their bib number and avoid any fraud.