123rd Boston Marathon qualifier: 30,458 entries, 4 minutes 52 seconds under cutoff
30,458 runners registered with a Boston Qualifying time for the 123rd edition, but only those at least 4 minutes 52 seconds inside their age-group standard made the 30,000-runner field.
What made 2019 notable
The 123rd Boston Marathon produced the deepest qualifying cutoff the race had ever seen at that point. 30,458 runners registered with a valid Boston Qualifying time during the September 2018 window, chasing 30,000 official entries. The BAA accepted 23,074, every one of them 4 minutes 52 seconds or faster under their age-group standard, a sharp jump from the 3:23 cutoff of 2018. A further 7,384 athletes who had cleared the BQ bar still missed out. On race day Lawrence Cherono outkicked two-time champion Lelisa Desisa by two seconds in 2:07:57, the closest men's finish since 1988 and a Boston debut win, while Worknesh Degefa broke away alone before mile five and ran a solo 2:23:30 on her own debut.
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 2019 qualifier
What was the 2019 Boston Marathon qualifier cutoff?
4 minutes 52 seconds under each age-group standard, the deepest cutoff in race history at that point, up from 3:23 the year before.
How many qualifiers applied for the 123rd Boston?
30,458 runners with a valid Boston Qualifying time. The BAA accepted 23,074. A further 7,384 athletes who had cleared the BQ standard were turned away by field-size limits.
What were the 2019 Boston Marathon qualifying standards?
These were the pre-2020 standards, five minutes more lenient than later years. Men 18 to 34 needed 3:05:00 and women 18 to 34 needed 3:35:00. The BAA tightened every standard by five minutes for the 2020 race.
Who won the 2019 Boston Marathon?
Lawrence Cherono won the men's race in 2:07:57, outkicking Lelisa Desisa by two seconds in the closest finish since 1988. Worknesh Degefa won the women's race in 2:23:30 after a long solo breakaway. Both were Boston debutants.