Boston 2028 Qualifying Window Opens September 19

Published August 28, 2026 · Estimates, updated each registration cycle

The qualifying window for the 2028 Boston Marathon opens on Saturday, September 19, 2026, one day after registration week for the 2027 race closes. It stays open through registration week for 2028 in September 2027. In plain terms: a marathon you run on or after September 19 this year counts toward Boston 2028, and one you run before that date does not.

Why the date matters this autumn

Almost every big fall marathon in the northern hemisphere lands after that Saturday. Berlin, Chicago, New York, Marine Corps, Indianapolis Monumental, Philadelphia, Richmond, CIM and the rest of the late season are all inside the 2028 window from the day they are run. That makes this the cleanest fresh start a Boston hopeful gets: a full year of eligible racing in front of you, with a registration week roughly twelve months out rather than twelve days.

The runners this matters most to are the ones who spend the middle of September waiting on an email. If your 2027 application falls the wrong side of the cutoff, your next qualifier does not have to wait for the answer. Anything from September 19 onward is already banked for 2028. If you are still deciding between a September race and a late autumn one, spring versus fall qualifiers covers the trade-off in weather, training block and how long you then sit on the time.

The standards do not change

The BAA has confirmed that the age and gender qualifying standards for 2028 are identical to the 2027 ones. That is worth saying clearly, because the last cycle broke a long stretch of stability: for the 2026 race the standards tightened by five minutes for every athlete under 60, while the 60 and over brackets stayed put. That tightening is now simply the baseline. An open man still needs 2:55:00 and an open woman 3:25:00, with the full table in the current qualifying times, which apply unchanged to 2028.

Use the standard for your age on race day, not your age when you run the marathon. The 2028 race is expected on Monday, April 17, 2028, the third Monday in April, though the BAA confirms the date formally in its own time. If you have a birthday between your qualifier and that Monday that moves you up a bracket, the slower standard is the one you are entitled to use.

What is not settled yet

Two things are still open. The first is the downhill adjustment. For 2027 the BAA introduced a time index on courses with a net elevation drop greater than 1,500 feet, adding five minutes between 1,500 and 2,999 feet, ten minutes between 3,000 and 5,999 feet, and ruling out courses beyond 6,000 feet entirely. The BAA has said those indexes are subject to change for 2028, so if you are choosing a race specifically for its descent, plan on the current tiers and watch for revisions. The mechanics are in the downhill rule explainer.

The second is the cutoff, which is never known in advance. It is not a rule the BAA sets ahead of time but the byproduct of how many qualifiers apply for a limited field, published only after applications close. Our central estimate for the 2027 cutoff is about 5:15 under the standard, give or take roughly 1:45, and that is our estimate rather than an official figure. No honest 2028 number exists yet, which is exactly why a buffer is worth more than a bare qualifier. See how to build a buffer for what that means in training terms.

What to do with the next twelve months

Pick a certified full marathon inside the window, run it as far under your standard as you can manage, and submit the chip time. Then check where that buffer actually stands. Put your age, gender and finish time into the cutoff predictor and it will show your buffer, an estimated chance for the current cycle, and whether that same buffer would have been accepted in each of the last 13 real Boston cycles. That historical replay is the most honest guide available for a year whose cutoff nobody can know yet. For the cycle happening right now, the calendar is in the 2027 registration dates.