Boston 2027 Cutoff Is 5:17: What It Means

Published September 30, 2026 · Estimates, updated each registration cycle

Short answer: the cutoff for the 2027 Boston Marathon is 5:17. The Boston Athletic Association began sending acceptance emails on September 29, 2026, and qualifiers needed to have run at least 5 minutes and 17 seconds faster than their age group standard to be accepted on time. In practice that means the slowest accepted open man ran 2:49:43 against a 2:55:00 standard, the first time that mark has dipped under 2:50, and the slowest accepted open woman ran 3:19:43 against 3:25:00. The race itself is on Monday, April 19, 2027.

The numbers behind the cutoff

The B.A.A. received 33,656 qualifier applications during registration week, September 14 to 18, from 129 countries and all 50 states. That is a little more than the 33,267 applications for 2026. Of those, 24,630 were accepted because their buffer met the 5:17 cutoff. For the first time, another 1,000 qualifiers were added through the new Boston Qualifier Selection, a random drawing among applicants who beat their standard but missed the cutoff. That brings the total to a record 25,630 accepted qualifiers, with the remaining places in the roughly 30,000 runner field going to charity, professional and Para athletes. Subtracting the accepted total from the applications leaves roughly 8,000 applicants who qualified and still will not start.

Slowest accepted time by age group

The cutoff applies equally to every age group, so the slowest accepted time is simply the standard minus 5:17. Age is your age on race day, April 19, 2027. The women's column also applies to non-binary athletes.

How it compares

The 2026 race cut at 4:34, so the bar rose by 0:43 in one cycle even though the standards themselves did not change. The field grew and more qualifiers were accepted, but the number of applicants running well under their standard grew faster. For the full run of cutoffs since 2014, see the Boston cutoff trend.

Before registration we published a central estimate of 5:15 with an uncertainty of about 1:45 either way. The official figure landed two seconds from that estimate. That is a good result, but it is partly luck: a one minute miss would have been just as consistent with the model, and the reasoning is laid out in our 2027 cutoff prediction.

If you missed the cutoff

If your buffer was under 5:17, you were automatically entered into the Qualifier Selection. With 1,000 places drawn from roughly 9,000 eligible applicants, the odds were about one in nine, so most runners in that group will get a non acceptance email. The drawing is explained in how the Qualifier Selection works, and your other options, from charity entries to planning a faster qualifier, are in what to do if you miss the cutoff.

What it means for 2028

The B.A.A. has confirmed that the standards for the 2028 race, on April 17, 2028, stay the same, and the qualifying window already opened on September 19, 2026. Three cycles of cutoffs between four and seven minutes under the current or previous standards are a clear signal: a bare qualifier is not enough, and a buffer of five minutes or more is the realistic starting point. Treat any 2028 number as an estimate until next September. The rules for the new cycle are in the 2028 qualifying window. To see how your own time stacks up against 5:17 and every earlier cutoff, enter it in the cutoff predictor.