119th Boston Marathon qualifier: 25,493 entries, 1 minute 2 seconds under cutoff
The 119th Boston Marathon turned the entire 26.2 miles into a fight against cold rain and a headwind, and Lelisa Desisa and Caroline Rotich both prevailed on a day that punished the clock.
What made 2015 notable
The 119th Boston Marathon was defined by its raw weather. A cold, rainy Patriots Day with a stiff headwind down the course slowed times and thinned the spectator crowds. On the qualifier side, 25,493 runners applied during the rolling fastest-first registration window, the BAA accepted 23,546 against a 30,000-entrant field, and 1,947 were turned away. Only those at least 1 minute 2 seconds inside their age-group standard got in. The racing went down to the wire: Caroline Rotich of Kenya outsprinted Mare Dibaba over the final stretch to win the women's race in 2:24:55, just 4 seconds clear, while Ethiopia's Lelisa Desisa regained the men's title in 2:09:17, becoming the first non-Kenyan to win Boston twice since Geoff Smith.
Qualifier pool over time
Age-group qualifying times
View full age-group BQ standards
| Age | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 18-34 | 03:05:00 | 03:35:00 |
| 35-39 | 03:10:00 | 03:40:00 |
| 40-44 | 03:15:00 | 03:45:00 |
| 45-49 | 03:25:00 | 03:55:00 |
| 50-54 | 03:30:00 | 04:00:00 |
| 55-59 | 03:40:00 | 04:10:00 |
| 60-64 | 03:55:00 | 04:25:00 |
| 65-69 | 04:10:00 | 04:40:00 |
| 70-74 | 04:25:00 | 04:55:00 |
| 75-79 | 04:40:00 | 05:10:00 |
| 80+ | 04:55:00 | 05:25:00 |
Questions about the 2015 qualifier
What was the 2015 Boston Marathon qualifier cutoff?
1 minute 2 seconds under each age-group standard. Runners had to be at least that far inside their qualifying time to be accepted into the 119th Boston Marathon.
How many qualifiers applied for the 119th Boston?
25,493 runners applied with a valid Boston Qualifying time. The BAA accepted 23,546, and 1,947 qualified applicants were turned away due to field-size limits.
When was the 2015 Boston registration window?
Registration opened 8 September 2014 under a fastest-qualifiers-first system and closed 17 September 2014. Acceptance notification began 24 September 2014.
Who won the 2015 Boston Marathon?
Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia won the men's race in 2:09:17, his second Boston title. Caroline Rotich of Kenya won the women's race in 2:24:55, edging Mare Dibaba by 4 seconds on a cold, rainy, headwind-bound Patriots Day.