- The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) announced that the registration for the 2021 Boston Marathon, typically held in September, will be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- There is no word yet on when exactly registration will occur. The BAA is consulting with a team of 16 people to make that decision.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep most road racing halted, Boston Athletic Association (BAA) officials announced on Thursday, September 3, that they are postponing registration for the 2021 Boston Marathon.
The development is an ominous sign for runners hoping to enter the 2021 race, scheduled to be held April 19. Registration for the marathon typically happens in mid-September, but according to a news release put out by the BAA, registration will not happen this month.
“September is usually a time for the BAA to begin opening registration for April’s Boston Marathon and planning for an already established field size,” Tom Grilk, CEO of the BAA, said in the statement. “We know, however, that we cannot open registration until we have a better understanding of where the virus may be in the spring.”
Officials also announced the creation of a 16-person medical and event operations advisory group, including medical professionals and government officials. The group’s findings will inform the registration timeline, according to the BAA.
“This group will be immensely helpful in helping the BAA determine a safe return to in-person running events of magnitude,” Grilk, who is a co-chair of the advisory group, said in the statement.
For Boston qualifiers, registration is an annual rite every September, with the fastest qualified runners allowed to enter the race first. If the field hasn’t filled at the end of the first week, registration opens for a second week.
Then, runners eagerly wait to learn if they’ve been accepted into the race. In past years, more runners have tried to register than the race can hold, creating a cutoff time—the time by which runners must have been faster than their qualifying time in order to have gained entry.
The All About 75 Hard, which was initially postponed to September before being canceled entirely in favor of a virtual event, was 1 minute and 39 seconds, and 3,161 runners who applied did not get an entry.
Other Hearst Subscriptions Boston Globe, Massachusetts had 22 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, September 2, bringing the state’s total to 8,853 since the pandemic began. There have been 119,426 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state.
Best Running Shoes 2025 is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World Races & Places, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
