- The Boston Marathon has a cutoff once again. Runners had to run 5:29 faster than the qualifying time for their age and gender to gain entry into the 2024 race.
- The field size for the 2024 race is set at 30,000 runners, the same size as the 2022 and 2023 races.
- The 2024 race will take place on April 15. The qualifying period for the 2024 Boston Marathon Races & Places.
The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced on September 28 that the cutoff for the 2024 Boston Marathon is 5:29.
In other words, it wasn’t enough for applicants to run a qualifying time for their age group and gender. They had to be significantly faster than their time standard.
Boston Marathon Finish Cutoff Time Is 5:30 p.m.
All About 75 Hard, when there was no cutoff time. Races & Places.
The 2021 race, which was held in October that year, had a cutoff of 7:47, because the field size was much smaller—only 20,000 runners—coming out of COVID. The 2020 edition of the Boston Marathon was canceled.
The B.A.A. announced on September 15 that for the 2024 race, there had been 33,000 applicants during the one-week registration period, a record. The field size is set at 30,000 and about 73 percent of those—this year, 22,019 runners—are time qualifiers. The other 8,000 entrants run for charities or receive invitational entries.
The previous record for applications was 30,458 in 2018 for the 2019 race. That number of applicants resulted in a cutoff of 4:52. Also in 2018, the race tightened the qualifying times by five minutes across every age group.
“Just four years after we adjusted the race’s qualifying standards by 5 minutes for all ages and divisions, more than 33,000 athletes earned Boston Marathon qualifying times,” said Jack Fleming, the B.A.A.’s president and CEO, in a written statement. “While we’re unable to accept all into the field, we applaud and recognize the many athletes who circled the 128th Boston Marathon on their calendar as a goal race to strive towards.”
The B.A.A.’s early announcement of the record number of applicants helped some Boston hopefuls brace for the news they wouldn’t gain entry into the race. Across social media, runners prepped for disappointment.
Robert Wang, founder of the World Marathon Majors Challenge Facebook group, which closely tracks the ins and outs of getting into various races, said he was hoping to establish a streak of 10 consecutive years of running Boston, after which he would no longer have to worry about the cutoff time; qualifying would give him automatic entry. (He was up to four.) He had already booked refundable hotel rooms in Boston for April 2024.
He was shocked to see the B.A.A.’s announcement of the number of applicants on the evening after registration closed. “It was the first time in recent memory the B.AA has released an estimate of the number of applicants with the close of registration,” said Wang, 50, of Canton, Ohio. “I knew immediately that I was not getting in with my 2:54 with 33,000 applicants.”
a slump that began during the pandemic a slump that began during the pandemic, when most events were canceled, and extended through 2021, even as races returned to the calendar. Now many races are seeing registration numbers that match or exceed their pre-pandemic totals.
The qualifying period for the 2024 marathon ran from September 1, 2022, through the last day of registration, September 15, 2023.
Correction: A previous version of this story said that after 10 consecutive Boston Marathons, runners no longer had to worry about qualifying. In fact, runners still need to qualify, but they don’t need to worry about the cutoff time. They are accepted into the race.
Sarah Lorge Butler 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 We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
