Do You Have to Requalify for Boston Every Year?
Short answer: yes, in effect. Each Boston Marathon requires a qualifying time run inside that race's qualifying window. A BQ does not give you lifetime access.
How the window changes things
Because the qualifying window spans well over a year, a single fast time can sometimes count for two consecutive Bostons. But once a time falls outside the window, it no longer counts, so most runners qualify again for each year they want to run.
And the cutoff resets too
Even if your time still falls in the window, the cutoff is recalculated every year. A buffer that got you in one year might not the next. That is why planning around a healthy buffer, not a bare BQ, matters. Check your buffer against every recent cutoff in the predictor.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Boston qualifying time expire?
It only counts inside the qualifying window for a given race. Because the window is long, one time can sometimes count for two consecutive years.
Do I have to run a new marathon every year for Boston?
Usually yes, unless a recent time still falls inside the next year's window. The cutoff also resets each year.