What Time Do You Need for Boston 2028?

Published October 1, 2026 · Estimates, updated each registration cycle

Short answer: if you are chasing the 2028 Boston Marathon, aim to beat your qualifying standard by about six to seven minutes, not by the bare minimum. The 2027 race cut at 5:17 under the standard, and the cycles before it landed at 4:34, 6:51 and 5:29. For an open man a seven minute buffer turns the 2:55:00 standard into a target of 2:48:00, and for an open woman it turns 3:25:00 into 3:18:00. Nobody knows the 2028 cutoff yet, so every target here is a planning figure, not a prediction from the B.A.A.

Why 2028 starts from a high bar

The 2028 race is on April 17, 2028, and its qualifying window opened on September 19, 2026, the day after 2027 registration closed. The B.A.A. has said the standards stay where they are, so the only moving part is the cutoff. Three things push it up rather than down. Applications keep rising, from 33,267 for 2026 to 33,656 for 2027. The number of runners finishing well under their standard is growing faster than the field. And the new Boston Qualifier Selection drawing only rescued 1,000 of roughly 9,000 qualifiers who beat their standard but missed the cutoff, which is a consolation lottery, not a plan. The details of that drawing are in how the Qualifier Selection works.

One factor could pull the other way. For 2027 the B.A.A. started adjusting times run on courses with a net drop of more than 1,500 feet, which removes some of the biggest buffers from the pool. The 2027 cutoff still rose, so do not count on that rule to bring 2028 down. See the downhill rule if your qualifier is on a steep course.

Three tiers instead of one number

A single target hides how uncertain any cutoff is a year and a half out. It is more honest to think in bands. A buffer of about 5:00 sits right among the last few cutoffs: it would have been accepted for 2026 but not for 2027, so treat it as a coin flip. A buffer of 6:00 clears every cutoff since the standards were tightened for 2026 and is a solid target. A buffer of 7:00 or more would have been accepted in every year since 2014 except the pandemic year 2021, when the field was cut to 20,000, and is as close to safe as Boston gets.

Target finish times for 2028, by age group

Standards are the current published ones, confirmed for 2028. Age is your age on race day, April 17, 2028, not on the day you run the qualifier, which can move you into an easier band. The women's columns also apply to non-binary athletes.

How to use the window you have

The 2028 window runs until registration in September 2027, which gives most runners two realistic attempts: one this fall or winter and one next spring. That is useful, because only your fastest qualifying time counts and a second race lets you add buffer without risk. If your first attempt lands in the coin flip band, the spring race is the place to push into the solid band. Pick flat, cool, certified courses; the 2028 qualifying window guide covers the dates and rules, and the 2027 cutoff breakdown shows the slowest accepted time per age group last cycle.

To check an exact time instead of an age band, enter it in the cutoff predictor. It shows your buffer under the standard and replays it against every real Boston cutoff since 2014, so you can see in which years it would have made the field.