122nd Boston Marathon qualifier: 28,260 entries, 3 minutes 23 seconds under cutoff
28,260 runners registered with a Boston Qualifying time for the 122nd Boston Marathon, but only those at least 3 minutes 23 seconds inside their age-group standard made the 30,000-runner field.
What made 2018 notable
Race day was brutal: 39 degrees Fahrenheit, driving rain and hail, and gusty headwinds, one of the coldest and wettest Bostons on record. Yuki Kawauchi of Japan ran down defending champion Geoffrey Kirui in the final mile to win in 2:15:58, the first Japanese man to take Boston since Toshihiko Seko in 1987 and the slowest winning time since 1976. Desiree Linden won the women's race in 2:39:54, becoming the first American woman to win Boston since 1985. To even reach that start line, qualifiers had to beat their age-group standard by 3 minutes 23 seconds. The BAA received 28,260 applications, accepted 23,198, and turned away 5,062 eligible qualifiers because of the 30,000-runner field limit.
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 2018 qualifier
What was the 2018 Boston Marathon qualifier cutoff?
3 minutes 23 seconds under each age-group standard. Runners had to beat their qualifying time by at least that much to be accepted into the 30,000-runner field.
How many qualifiers applied for the 122nd Boston?
28,260 runners with a valid Boston Qualifying time registered during the September 2017 window. The BAA accepted 23,198 and turned away 5,062 eligible qualifiers due to field-size limits.
When was the 2018 Boston registration window?
Registration opened 11 September 2017 and ran through 20 September 2017. Acceptances were announced on 27 September 2017.
Who won the 2018 Boston Marathon?
Yuki Kawauchi of Japan won the men's race in 2:15:58, the first Japanese champion since 1987, and Desiree Linden of the USA won the women's race in 2:39:54, the first American woman to win Boston since 1985. Both ran through near-freezing rain and heavy wind.