BOSTON – Registration for the Boston Marathon 2016 will open on Monday, September 14, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. ET. The B.A.A. will use the same process to register qualified runners as it used for the Boston Marathon in 2013, 2014, and 2015, allowing the fastest qualifiers in their gender and age group to register first.
Boston Marathon 2016 the 120th
The 120th Boston Marathon, USA, will be held on Monday, April 18, 2016, Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and for the 31st consecutive year the event will be sponsored by John Hancock Financial. Registration will be held entirely online at www.baa.org. The qualification window for the 2016 Boston Marathon began on September 13, 2014.
To qualify for the Boston Marathon, athletes must meet time standards which correspond to age and gender. The qualifying times for the 2016 Boston Marathon remain unchanged from recent years and are listed on the B.A.A.’s website: www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/qualifying/qualifying-standards.aspx
Registration will occur on a “rolling admission” schedule, beginning with the fastest qualifiers. On Monday, September 14, eligible runners who have met the qualifying standard for their age and gender by 20 minutes or more may register. On Wednesday, September 16, at 10:00 a.m. ET, if space remains, registration will open for those who have met their qualifying standard by 10 minutes or more. If space remains, registration will open on Friday, September 18, at 10:00 a.m. ET for those who have met their qualifying standard by five minutes or more. Registration will close on Saturday, September 19, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
If space remains after the first week of registration (Monday, September 14, through Saturday, September 19), then registration will re-open for all qualifiers from Monday, September 21, at 10:00 a.m. ET through Wednesday, September 23, at 5:00 p.m. ET. As during the first week of registration, entry during this period (Sept. 21-23) will not be first-come, first-served and the fastest qualifiers in their gender and age group among these submissions will be given entry as space allows. If space remains after this initial period, then on Monday, September 28, registration will re-open to anyone who meets the qualifying standards. Registration will remain open on a first-come, first-served basis until the maximum field size is reached.
“Participating in the Boston Marathon is a pinnacle achievement in the lives of a great many distance runners,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. “We are keenly aware of the dedication and commitment required to meet the B.A.A.’s qualifying standards for the Boston Marathon, and we recognize their achievement in our registration process.”
The registration process ensures that the fastest qualifiers will be accepted first. However, achieving one’s qualifying standard does not guarantee entry. Those who are the fastest among the pool of applicants in their age and gender group will be accepted.
The registration fee for the Boston Marathon 2016 for qualifiers is $180.00 USD for United States residents and $240.00 USD for international residents.
Working in cooperation with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the eight cities and towns along the Boston Marathon route, the B.A.A. will set and announce the field size for the Boston Marathon 2016 this summer. The 2013 Boston Marathon had 27,000 official entrants, the special 118th Boston Marathon in 2014 featured a larger field size of 36,000 entrants, and the 2015 Boston Marathon had a field size of 30,000 official entrants.
BOSTON MARATHON REGISTRATION DATES
- Monday, September 14 – Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 20 minutes, 00 seconds or faster.
- Wednesday, September 16 – Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 10 minutes, 00 seconds or faster (if space remains).
- Friday, September 18 – Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 5 minutes, 00 seconds or faster (if space remains).
- Saturday, September 19 – Registration closes at 10:00 p.m. ET.
- Monday, September 21 – All qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard (if space remains) may submit an entry.
- Wednesday, September 23 – Registration closes at 5:00 p.m. ET. Registration from September 21-23 will not be first-come, first-served and the fastest qualifiers in their gender and age group among these submissions will be given entry as space allows.
- If space remains after this initial period, then on Monday, September 28 registration will re-open to anyone who meets the qualifying standards on a first come, first served basis. Registration will remain open until the maximum field size is reached.
A FEW IMPORTANT NOTES
- The Boston Marathon 2016 will be held on Monday, April 18, 2016, Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- The qualifying standards for the Boston Marathon 2016, shown below, are the same as the qualifying standards for the 2013, 2014, and 2015 Boston Marathons.
- Though the B.A.A. will email registrants upon the completion of their form, runners are not officially entered into the race until their qualifying time is verified. This length of time may vary and can be as long as several days, depending on the qualifying marathon.
- The qualification window for the Boston Marathon 2016 began on Saturday, September 13, 2014, and will remain open until the conclusion of registration for the Boston Marathon 2016.
- The qualification window for the 2017 Boston Marathon will be announced during registration for the 2016 Boston Marathon.
- Registration dates for the 2017 Boston Marathon have not yet been announced.
- The 2017 Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 17, 2017.
2016 BOSTON MARATHON QUALIFYING STANDARDS (effective September 13, 2014)
All standards below are based on official submitted net time.
AGE GROUP MEN WOMEN
18-34 3hrs 05min 00sec 3hrs 35min 00sec
35-39 3hrs 10min 00sec 3hrs 40min 00sec
40-44 3hrs 15min 00sec 3hrs 45min 00sec
45-49 3hrs 25min 00sec 3hrs 55min 00sec
50-54 3hrs 30min 00sec 4hrs 00min 00sec
55-59 3hrs 40min 00sec 4hrs 10min 00sec
60-64 3hrs 55min 00sec 4hrs 25min 00sec
65-69 4hrs 10min 00sec 4hrs 40min 00sec
70-74 4hrs 25min 00sec 4hrs 55min 00sec
75-79 4hrs 40min 00sec 5hrs 10min 00sec
80 and over 4hrs 55min 00sec 5hrs 25min 00sec
An additional 59 seconds will NOT be accepted for each age group time standard. That is, there is no cushion or flexibility with the minimum qualifying time for purposes of qualification eligibility.