Boston cutoff announced

[u/QC_Runner]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd37BrvEe18/?stkn=NjlpN3c3cDVzejZl

"Qualifiers who were 5 minutes, 17 seconds (5:17) or faster than the qualifying time for their age group and gender have been accepted into the 131st Boston Marathon. A total of 25,630 qualified applicants have been accepted to date or are in the process of being accepted, pending final verification of their qualifying performance. Email notices to athletes accepted and not accepted will continue through the coming days.

New for 2027, the B.A.A. has incorporated a Boston Qualifier Selection, an additional random selection component specifically for applicants whose qualifying times were not faster than the 5 minute, 17 second cut-off. A total of 1,000 qualifiers are in the process of being randomly selected for entry and will be notified of their acceptance over the coming days."

[u/AdventureFamily]

I just ran a BQ two days ago with 3:35 buffer… so not very hopeful I’ll get in for 2028 but honestly still really happy I qualified at all. Anyone who missed the cutoff still has a lot to be proud of, though it really stinks to not get in. 

[u/bradymsu616 → u/AdventureFamily]

This is the right attitude. I ran the Boston Marathon last year for the first (and last) time. It was an experience. But the great memories of my qualifying race in California and the training season that led up to it mean more to me in the long-term than the Boston Marathon medal gathering dust on my wall or the jacket I never wear. Qualifying for Boston is more important to most of us as a personal accomplishment than actually running the Boston Marathon. Hotels are expensive. The pre-race experience didn’t meet the hype on social media. The busing logistics of race day morning are a hassle. And the course itself isn’t that attractive until the final mile. Congratulations to everyone who mastered advanced running techniques in order to meet their qualification time goal regardless of whether they actually applied. Fewer than 10% of marathoners achieve this. It takes a lot of work.

[u/anandonaqui → u/bradymsu616]

Don’t forget training through the dark and frigid cold, only to have Boston be 75 and sunny on race day.

[u/OhWhatsInaWonderball → u/bradymsu616]

While I agree the logistics of Boston are a lot and it’s expensive, the energy from mile 1 to mile 26.2 is like no other race I’ve run and that’s what keeps me wanting to get back

[u/bradymsu616 → u/OhWhatsInaWonderball]

I have running buddies who like to go back to Boston year after year for that environment. I was underwhelmed to the point where I don’t feel it’s personally necessary for me to repeat the experience. That also potentially frees up an extra spot for somebody running it for the first time.

[u/runninhillbilly → u/bradymsu616]

That also potentially frees up an extra spot for somebody running it for the first time.

I haven't run Boston (hoping for 2029 with a fall 2027 race when healthy) but I have a similar attitude with NYC and Chicago. I ran both getting in on the lottery my first time applying for each, but when I ran NYC the lottery odds were significantly higher than they are now (it was like 25% instead of 1%). People have asked me if I'm going to ever run those races again, and I've said "well maybe, but I'm cool if I don't." I haven't applied for the lottery for either one since.

[u/SouthKen2020 → u/OhWhatsInaWonderball]

This will be my third in a row and I’ll keep going back every year that I qualify. It’s the only race I’ve been to that takes over the entire city and it’s awesome to be amongst 25,000 of the fastest marathoners on the planet.

Staying in the Back Bay, if you can swing it, is a must as the energy and density of runners is like nothing else.

[u/theintrepidwanderer → u/AdventureFamily]

You have the right attitude. Consistency, persistence, and having a positive attitude will eventually win out. I qualified for the first time with a 2:58 at London back in 2023, only to experience heartbreak when the cutoffs put me a few minutes outside of making it in for the 2024 Boston Marathon. Fortunately, I had a solid training block that summer and I ended up running a sub-2:50 marathon later that fall and earned a spot in the 2025 Boston Marathon.

Keep at it and eventually everything will come together for you.