128th Boston Marathon qualifier: 33,058 entries, 5 minutes 29 seconds under cutoff
33,058 runners hit a Boston Qualifying time for the 128th edition, but only those at least 5 minutes 29 seconds inside their age-group standard got in.
What made 2024 notable
The 128th Boston Marathon was the toughest year on record for qualifiers outside of the pandemic-shrunk 2021 edition. 33,058 runners registered with a valid Boston Qualifying time during the September window, chasing 30,000 official entries. The BAA accepted 22,019, every one of them 5 minutes 29 seconds or faster under their age-group standard. More than 11,000 athletes who had cleared the famous BQ bar still missed out. The cutoff had crept up steadily from 1:14 in 2012 to 4:52 in 2019, but the 2024 jump to 5:29 set off a wider conversation that ultimately led the BAA to tighten the qualifying standards by five minutes across the board for the 2026 cycle.
Qualifier pool over time
Age-group qualifying times
View full age-group BQ standards
| Age | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 18-34 | 03:00:00 | 03:30:00 |
| 35-39 | 03:05:00 | 03:35:00 |
| 40-44 | 03:10:00 | 03:40:00 |
| 45-49 | 03:20:00 | 03:50:00 |
| 50-54 | 03:25:00 | 03:55:00 |
| 55-59 | 03:35:00 | 04:05:00 |
| 60-64 | 03:50:00 | 04:20:00 |
| 65-69 | 04:05:00 | 04:35:00 |
| 70-74 | 04:20:00 | 04:50:00 |
| 75-79 | 04:35:00 | 05:05:00 |
| 80+ | 04:50:00 | 05:20:00 |
Questions about the 2024 qualifier
What was the 2024 Boston Marathon qualifier cutoff?
5 minutes 29 seconds under each age-group standard, the strictest cutoff in BAA history outside of the pandemic-affected 2021 race.
How many qualifiers applied for the 128th Boston?
33,058 runners with a valid Boston Qualifying time. The BAA accepted 22,019. More than 11,000 athletes who had cleared the BQ standard were turned away.
When was the 2024 Boston registration window?
Open 11 September 2023, closed 15 September 2023. Acceptance announced 27 September 2023.
Why was the 2024 cutoff so deep?
Application volume had climbed steadily against an unchanged 30,000-runner field. The cutoff jumped from 4:52 in 2019 to 5:29 in 2024, and prompted the BAA's later five-minute tightening of every standard for the 2026 cycle.