Boston Athletic Association Is Taking Applications for 2026 Boston Marathon
With the 2025 Boston Marathon now only days away, officials with the Boston Athletic Association say they are still taking applications for the 130th Boston Marathon on April 20, 2026….
With the 2025 Boston Marathon now only days away, officials with the Boston Athletic Association say they are still taking applications for the 130th Boston Marathon on April 20, 2026.
If you're thinking about participating in next year's Boston Marathon, here's what you need to know now:
How to Participate in the 2026 Boston Marathon
Qualifying times are based on official submitted net time and each athlete's age on the date of the 2026 Boston Marathon. Achieving the qualifying standard, however, doesn't guarantee entry into the marathon.
According to the Boston Athletic Association's (B.A.A.) website, if the total number of submissions exceeds the allowable field size for qualified athletes, runners who are the fastest among the pool of applicants in their age and gender group will be accepted into the race.
Historically, runners who beat the qualifying standard by a greater amount of time are more likely to be accepted into the Boston Marathon.
The qualifying window for the 2026 Boston Marathon opened on Sept. 1, 2024. It will continue through the fall of 2025. A registration cutoff date has not been announced.
Qualifying times for 2026 are available online. The “cutoff” time for the 2025 Boston Marathon was six minutes and 51 seconds.
According to a Boston.com report, more than 24,000 qualified applicants have been accepted — or are in the process of being accepted, pending verification of their qualifying performance — into this year's marathon. Approximately 12,324 qualifier applicants were not accepted.
Runners for Charity
Invitation entries for charity, such as those granted through the B.A.A. Official Charity Program, don't require a qualifying time.
More than 170 organizations have been selected for the 2025 Boston Marathon charity program, which consists of approximately 10% of the total field size. Various nonprofit organization participants recruit athletes who pledge to raise funds for their cause. Each respective fundraising team establishes fundraising minimums.
Approximately 3,200 runners are raising funds this year. According to a B.A.A. spokesperson, charity participants hope to exceed their goal of $50 million raised.
