Is there a Boston Marathon 2027 lottery?

When is Boston Marathon 2027 registration?

The B.A.A. set Qualifier Registration for the 2027 race at 14 to 18 September 2026, inside its online platform, Athletes' Village. Applications are accepted until 17:00 ET on Friday 18 September 2026. That is 22:00 in the UK and 23:00 in central Europe, so an overseas runner leaving it to the last evening is cutting it fine.

Timing inside the week does not matter. The B.A.A. states that registration is not on a first-come, first-served basis: an application on the Friday is judged exactly like one on the Monday, because acceptance runs on qualifying time, not on when you clicked.

What qualifying time do I need for Boston 2027?

For the 18 to 34 age group the 2027 standards are 3:25:00 for women and 2:55:00 for men, and they get slower as the age groups rise. Your group is set by your age on race day, 19 April 2027, and the time that counts is your official net (chip) time from a certified marathon inside the qualifying window, which opened on 13 September 2025.

There is one new rule for 2027. Courses with a large net drop now carry a time adjustment: 5 minutes is added to a time from a course that drops 1,500 to 2,999 feet, 10 minutes for a drop of 3,000 to 5,999 feet, and a course that drops 6,000 feet or more no longer qualifies at all. If your qualifier was a fast downhill race, check the index before you assume your margin.

The full age-group table is on the B.A.A. qualify page.

Does a Boston qualifying time guarantee entry?

No, and this is the part that surprises first-time qualifiers. Boston's field has a size limit, and in recent years more runners have qualified than it can take. So the B.A.A. accepts the fastest applicants relative to their standard, working down until the field fills, and a cut-off results: you need to have run some margin under your standard, not just to have beaten it. The cut-off is only known once registration has closed and the applications have been ranked, so nobody can tell you the 2027 number in advance.

What is the Boston Qualifier Selection?

It is the one random element in Boston entry, and it is often described online as a lottery when it is not a public one. After the cut-off, the B.A.A. randomly selects approximately 1,000 more qualifiers from the applicants whose qualifying time was not faster than the cut-off. In the B.A.A.'s own framing, it gives everyone who met the standard for their age group a chance to run.

The condition is the whole point: you must already hold a valid qualifying time and have applied during Registration Week to be in that pool. There is no way into it for a runner without a qualifier, so it is a draw among qualifiers rather than a ballot like London's or Tokyo's.

When will I hear if I got into Boston 2027?

The B.A.A. says all qualifier applicants will be notified of acceptance or non-acceptance by early October 2026. Before that, each qualifying time is verified, which the B.A.A. warns can take several days depending on the marathon you ran, and no athlete is accepted until their time has been checked.

What does it cost to enter?

Submitting the registration application costs nothing. The entry fee is charged only to runners who are accepted, and the B.A.A. has not published the 2027 fee. That fee is the whole cost of the official route; any package promising a guaranteed Boston place for more than that is a travel or charity product, not the qualifier route.

Can I run Boston without a qualifying time?

The official charity program is the main route for runners without a qualifier: places in exchange for a fundraising commitment to one of the B.A.A.'s official charities. There is no public ballot to fall back on. If what you actually want is a free draw into a World Marathon Major, six of the seven run one, and our 2027 marathon majors guide has every window. Every date for this race, with its official sources, is on the Boston Marathon 2027 page, and the rest of the running calendar sits in our running ballots list.

We are not affiliated with the Boston Athletic Association or the Abbott World Marathon Majors. Registration happens only on baa.org, through Athletes' Village.