Field of Qualifiers Notified of Acceptance into the 129th Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America

September 24, 2024

More than 24,000 qualified athletes have been accepted into April’s race

BOSTON/ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today began notifying qualified applicants of their acceptance into the 129^th Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America. The race will be run on Monday, April 21, 2025.

Qualifiers who were 6 minutes, 51 seconds (6:51) or faster than the qualifying time for their age group and gender have been accepted into the 129^th Boston Marathon. A total of 24,069 qualified applicants have been accepted to date or are in the process of being accepted, pending final verification of their qualifying performance. Email notices to athletes accepted and not accepted have begun being issued by the B.A.A. and will continue through the coming days.

An updated total of 36,393 qualifier applications were received during registration week (Sept. 9-13), a race record and significant increase from the previous record of 33,058 qualifier applications for the 2024 race. The Boston Marathon field size is set at 30,000 official entrants.

“Boston Marathon qualifiers have trained thousands of miles with the hopes of lining up in Hopkinton on Patriots’ Day, ready to race towards the finish in Boston,” said Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the B.A.A. “The sport of marathoning is reaching record levels from both a participation and speed standpoint. Unfortunately, we’re unable to accept all athletes into the field, though we do want to recognize, thank, and applaud all whose goal was to be part of the 2025 event.”

Registration facts and statistics can be found below. The remainder of the Boston Marathon field will consist of invitational entrants, including runners participating as part of the Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program, as well as invited professional athletes and Para athletes.

A history of qualifying times and past registration acceptance information can be found here.

129^th BOSTON MARATHON QUALIFIER REGISTRATION BY THE NUMBERS:

• 36,393 applications were received during the registration period for qualifiers, a race record (note that this total has been updated from the 36,409 total announced on Sept. 16, as duplicate registration applications have been removed)
• 24,069 qualified applicants have been accepted to date or are in the process of being accepted, pending verification of their qualifying performance.
• 12,324 qualifier applicants were unable to be accepted into the 129^th Boston Marathon.
• This year’s ‘Cut-Off’ time needed to gain acceptance into the Boston Marathon was six minutes, 51 seconds or faster (6:51) than the qualifying time for each respective age group and gender.
• This year’s qualified field includes 13,740 men, 10,260 women, and 69 non-binary athletes to date.
• 709 qualifiers were accepted based on finishing 10 or more consecutive Boston Marathons.
• Citizens of 118 countries were accepted into the 129^th Boston Marathon.
• Residents of all 50 U.S. states (plus Washington, DC and additional U.S. territories) were accepted into the 129^th Boston Marathon.
• The top five most popular qualifying races were the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon (2,584 entrants), 2024 Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America (1,822 entrants), 2024 TCS London Marathon (1,101 entrants), 2023 BMW Berlin Marathon (809 entrants), and 2023 California International Marathon (749 entrants).
• Approximately 11,326 athletes will be racing their first Boston Marathon.
• The youngest and oldest accepted athletes are 18 and 83 years old, respectively.
• 1,286 Massachusetts residents are entered in the Boston Marathon.

During the registration period, the breakdown of accepted Qualifiers was as follows:

• 6,971 Qualifiers met their qualifying time by 20 minutes, 00 seconds or more.
• 11,199 Qualifiers met their qualifying time by between 10 minutes, 00 seconds and 19 minutes, 59 seconds.
• 5,873 Qualifiers met their qualifying time by between 06 minutes, 51 seconds and 9 minutes, 59 seconds.
• 26 athletes achieved their respective Para Athletics Division qualifying standards to gain entry.

The next B.A.A. event will be the 2024 Boston Half presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, on Sunday, November 10.

A list of frequently asked registration questions can be found below. Please note that all statistics above are preliminary and may change slightly during the verification process.

Frequently Asked Questions for Athletes

When will official notices of acceptances and non-acceptances be emailed?

Notices of acceptance or non-acceptance have begun to be issued and will continue through the coming days.

When will credit cards be charged? My credit card has been charged/it appears entry fees have been withdrawn from my bank. What does this mean?

Credit cards will be charged upon acceptance. Upon submission of an athlete’s application, their credit card has been authorized for payment. If an application is accepted, only then will the credit card be charged the non-refundable, non-transferable, and non-deferrable entry fee. Athletes may notice a preauthorization draft on a credit card statement. The actual charge will not appear on the credit card until their entry has been verified and accepted. Only athletes who are accepted into the Boston Marathon will be charged the entry fee.

Will 129^th Boston Marathon registration re-open to qualifiers?

Registration for the 129^th Boston Marathon was open from September 9-13 for all qualified athletes and will not re-open. Registration information for the 130^th Boston Marathon will be announced after the conclusion of the 2025 event.

When does registration for the 130^th Boston Marathon open?

Registration information for the 130^th Boston Marathon will be announced following the conclusion of the 129^th race. The 2026 qualifying window began on September 1, 2024, and qualifying standards can be found here.

I still want to participate in the 129^th Boston Marathon. What can I do?

Organizations who are part of the Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program will begin accepting applications for next April’s race later this fall. Athletes interested in fundraising as part of a charity program are encouraged to contact the non-profit or charity organization directly for more information.

ABOUT THE BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (B.A.A.)

Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A. manages the Boston Marathon, and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round programming. The 129th Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 21, 2025. The Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, along with international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. For more information on the B.A.A., please visit www.baa.org.

MEDIA CONTACT

Chris Lotsbom

Director of Race Communications & Media

Clotsbom@baa.org

Lorna Campbell

Head of Public Relations

Lcampbell@baa.org