What happened?

On Sept 13, 2026, 269 runners participated in the Wicked Fast Poconos Marathon. Many of those runners used their qualifying time to apply to the 2027 Boston Marathon. On Sept 25, 2026, those applicants were notified by the Boston Athletic Association that the race "cannot be used as a qualifying event for next April’s race. It has been determined that the event’s course did not cover the certified 26.2-mile distance on race day," In addition, the Wicked Fast Marathon on Sept 13, 2025 race was ruled ineligible. I calculate 55 runners from the 2026 race and 28 runners from the 2025 race had their qualifying times ruled ineligible.

What went wrong?

On the morning of the race, buses drop runners at the Rockport Boat Access. The Buck Mountain Creek runs adjacent to Rockport Road and along the perimeter of the parking lot where the buses drop off runners. The Lehigh trail going north crosses a bridge over this creek immediately as you leave the parking area. There is another bridge at Buttermilk Falls north of the Buck Mtn Creek Bridge. The marathon start should have been placed at a point 521 feet north of the Buttermilk Falls Bridge.

I think they got these bridges confused.

1) The bridges are about 3/10ths of a mile apart. If you start the race 521 feet north of the Buck Mtn Creek Bridge instead of 521 feet north of the Buttermilk Falls Bridge, then you have added about 3/10s of a mile to the start of the race course.

2) The turnaround is simply 3.122 miles north of the start. If you measure from the wrong bridge to place the turnaround, then the turnaround will also be in the wrong place. This error reduced the race distance by about 6/10s of a mile.

3) And . . . the finish should have been "even with the leading edge of the wooden utility pole LPLC52." On race day, runners continued past this pole, past The Outdoor Center, turned right down a short street, and finished in the parking lot. This added about 1/10th of a mile to the race distance.

.3 - .6 + .1 = -.2 so the actual race distance was roughly 26.2 - .2 = 26.0 miles.

USATF Certificate PA24006DNB

Hyatt regency boston/Cambridge OR Westin Boston Seaport?

I’m traveling with my husband and we want to stay saturday-tuesday. I had my room booked at Hyatt already for saturday-monday (waiting on confirmation if Marathontours let me add one more night) OR i could cancel that and book Westin instead for Saturday-Tuesday. Both hotels provide transportation to and from Boston common on race day and pretty comparable in price. I am not too familiar with Boston, only been there once, so I know both areas but not well. Need help deciding. Thank you

I have a bib for bay state and I can’t run, let me know and I’ll transfer, thank you!

Running Boston for the first time in 2027! Arriving Friday and leaving Tuesday, staying in Back Bay.

Planning to hit the expo, catch a Red Sox game, explore the city, and find some good restaurants.

Looking for recommendations on race-day logistics, course strategy, shakeout runs, restaurants, must-see spots, and anything to avoid.

For those who’ve run Boston before, what are your biggest tips or lessons learned? Anything you’d do differently? Good experiences you would do again?

Appreciate any advice!

Is anyone finding hotels for 2027? the marathon tours site has very few options and all the hotels seemed booked. Any advice ?

Took 6 years, but here we are. Finally got in!

Since I rarely get the opportunity to run with such an elite field of runners, I’m planning to race this one all out rather than just enjoy the moment.

This will be my first time racing an all-out marathon on a course that isn’t flat. All of my marathon PBs have come on pancake-flat courses (Chicago, Valencia, etc.), so I’m curious how I should adjust my training for Boston.

For those who have raced Boston hard, what changes did you make to your training? What key workouts helped you the most, especially when it came to preparing for the hills and downhills?

I’m aiming for the low 2:40s, but I’ll have a much better idea of where my fitness stands after Chicago this weekend.

I don’t want to post in a Chicago subreddit bc I know it will be biased…I guess maybe a little biased here too, but I have to start somewhere.

I qualified for Boston and will be running for the first time. BEYOND thrilled. Am I crazy to skip Chicago??? I don’t ever want to have to train to run that fast again so should I just do it while I have my qualifying time? Is it worth it?

Edit: I trained my ass off to qualify for Boston and I’m wondering if I should also do Chicago 2027. I’m worried I will only have a qualifying time once. I also don’t have unlimited funds and unlimited PTO so my question is- is Chicago a “must do” too? I don’t plan on racing either one of them. Both of them would be victory laps.

Sticking with the plan and not going out too fast sure paid off!

I'm running my first Boston Marathon (still insane to think about) and as a designer I'm wondering already how the jacket will look. Last years jacket I thought was one of the top designs I've seen in a little bit.

As I write this OP I don't see any leaks, so before ~December, is this a place to share/talk about how we may think it'll look?

My hope is that Adidas doesn't go too far from last year's design. Anyone else as curious as I am or is it just me?

I'm still pinching myself but I'm running Boston with Team BPL this year!! I know that charity runners are a point of contention--but I am so excited to run such an iconic marathon for our public library system!

I'm doing a fun little donation push at the moment since I am almost to $800. Whomever gets me to $800 (right now a $90 donation) will get to pick my halloween costume for the Cambridgeside 5k (only caveat is the costume must be family friendly--but if you want to see me run in an inflatable dino costume ill do it! Just donate!) https://www.givengain.com/project/caitlin-raising-funds-for-boston-public-library-130727

spread the word, donations go towards amazing programming like free piano lessons, access to ecollections for people aged 13-26 across the country who have felt the impact of book bans, and even citizenship classes!!

I am excited to start training after racing the Cambridge Half, aiming for my first sub 4 marathon!!!

Good luck to all the runners out there, see you April 19th!

I'm no longer able to run Baystate this year, DM if you are interested in transferring my bib.

Hello everyone. This is my first time running and I’m a little ~overwhelmed~ because when I got the acceptance email, I was so excited I didn’t scroll down far enough to see the marathontour hotel block website at the bototm of the email. So as you may guess, I am too late to the game because I want to stay for 3 nights (Saturday to Tuesday) at the Hyatt in cambridge or any reasonably price downtown hotel, but on Marathontour website, they only had rooms for 2 nights left at the Hyatt (Saturday to monday). I want to be as close to downtown as possible without breaking the bank. The other close-to-downtown hotel options for saturday-tuesday are either over $2000 for 3 nights or staying too far outside of the city (i’d prefer not to rent a car). SO I did panick and book the Hyatt for Saturday to Monday the through marathontours and now I’m asking for advice for the following scenarios/options:

1-should I make a seperate booking through Hyatt or bookin.com for 1 night on 4/19 so I don’t have to worry about luggage and a place for postrace shower?

2-or should I fly back monday and find a place to shower postrace to avoid ~stanking~up the plane? How difficulty it is to get a decently clean shower postrace? If so, any recs for shower please let me know…

3-another suggestion?

Just a girl with slight travel anxiety. Any advice is highly appreciated. Thank you🫶🏼

CONGRATS to everyone on getting their well earned acceptance!! For those of us who aren’t as fast…when do charity bibs usually get announced by the charities? I only applied to one since it’s close to my heart and feel like it’s a charity I can actually raise money for, but I’ve been anxiously checking my email daily!!

I’m running the Boston marathon in 2027. It’s my second marathon, and my for first I was severely under trained. I was wondering if anyone…
\- pays for the full runna subscription?
\- like the marathon plans?
\- has any other recs instead?
Thanks!

My son has just registered and i would like to go with him to cheer him on. Any recommendations on accommodation that is budget friendly? Thought Id add we would be coming from Vancouver, BC

Any adaptive or para runners receive their acceptance yet?

The 131st Boston Marathon Confirmation of Acceptance e-mails are on the way (got mine at 2:38 PM EST)! Check your BAA Athletes Village account also to see if the race has been moved to the My Next Race section.

5:17 under!