As 2024 Boston Marathon qualifiers are notified, the cutoff time will get stricter than ever

Boston Marathon

Greater than 11,000 runners who achieved the well-known “BQ,” probably the most coveted targets for any avid longest-distance runner, needed to be turned away.

By Amin Touri, The Boston Globe

September 28, 2023 | 11:16 AM

The Boston Athletic Affiliation began notifying certified runners of their entry standing for the 2024 Boston Marathon on Thursday, and lots of can be disillusioned.

Qualifiers who submitted occasions that had been 5 minutes, 29 seconds quicker than the usual for his or her age group had been accepted into the 128th version of the race — about 22,000 athletes — the strictest cutoff time the BAA has needed to impose within the decade because it started doing so, aside from the 2021 race and its restricted discipline dimension of simply 20,000.

“Simply 4 years after we adjusted the race’s qualifying requirements by 5 minutes for all ages and divisions, greater than 33,000 athletes earned Boston Marathon qualifying occasions,” mentioned Jack Fleming, president and CEO of the BAA, in an announcement. “Whereas we’re unable to simply accept all into the sphere, we applaud and acknowledge the numerous athletes who circled the 128th Boston Marathon on their calendar as a aim race to attempt in direction of. Boston Marathon qualifiers are among the many most devoted athletes in sports activities and are all the time pushing to realize their targets and private bests.”

The BAA obtained 33,058 qualifier functions throughout registration week Sept. 11-15. With a discipline dimension of simply 30,000, and room wanted for elites, wheelchair and para-athletes, and hundreds of charity runners, greater than 11,000 runners who achieved the well-known “BQ,” probably the most coveted targets for any avid longest-distance runner, needed to be turned away.

The BAA instituted its “rolling admissions” course of in 2012 as participation demand started to outpace the utmost discipline dimension, giving precedence to quicker qualifiers. Within the years since, the “cutoff time” wanted to get into the Boston Marathon has steadily grown from 1 minute, 14 seconds in 2012 to 4 minutes, 52 seconds within the final pre-COVID race in 2019. The 2021 Marathon had the strictest cutoff at 7 minutes, 47 seconds, however that mark was closely skewed by the sphere dimension being lower by a 3rd from the everyday 30,000 to simply 20,000 due to COVID restrictions.

For back-to-back years, the BAA was in a position to settle for all certified athletes, however that was an anomaly. Because the long-distance working calendar returns to semi-normalcy after the pandemic and qualifier marathons are again and thriving, the cutoff is tightening once more.

The minimal qualifying occasions had been final adjusted forward of the 2020 race — which was ultimately canceled — to three hours for males aged 18-34 and three hours, half-hour for girls 18-34, rising by 5 minutes for each five-year bracket thereafter.

This yr’s certified discipline consists of 12,535 males, 9,440 ladies, and 44 non-binary athletes.