With record-setting utility numbers for the 2024 Boston Marathon, hundreds of certified athletes who hit Boston requirements are certain to have their hearts damaged when the cut-off time is launched later this yr. However what’s the cut-off time more likely to be?
Whereas the Boston Marathon units a qualifying time, a rolling registration is obtainable first to these with the quickest instances. As such, getting that coveted BQ (Boston Qualifier) doesn’t assure your entry. With greater than 33,000 candidates for the 2024 marathon, the race has, on common over the previous 5 years, solely accepted a subject of round 23,300 runners, with the remaining reserved for invited athletes and charity runners. (The race has stated the sphere dimension will stay at 30,000, which it has been since 2015, aside from 2020.) Because of this practically 10,000 qualifiers’ instances won’t be accepted.
The query is, how large will the cut-off time be? In 2019, when the race set the earlier report for the very best variety of candidates (simply over 30,000), the Boston Athletic Affiliation (B.A.A.) needed to flip down greater than 7,000 runners, with a cut-off time of 4 minutes and 52 seconds. Because of this each runner, no matter age or gender, needed to have run not less than 4 minutes and 52 seconds sooner than their qualifying time in an effort to be accepted into the race.
| YEAR | FIELD SIZE | APPLICATIONS RECEIVED | ATHLETES ACCEPTED | ATHLETES UNABLE TO ACCEPT | CUT-OFF TIME |
| 2024 | 30,000 | 33,000+ (new report) | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 2023 | 30,000 | 23,267 | all | 0 | 0:00 |
| 2022 | 30,000 | 22,936 | all | 0 | 0:00 |
| 2021 (COVID yr) | 20,000 (restricted subject) | 23,824 | 14,609 | 9,215 | 7:47 |
| 2020 (digital/cancelled) | 31,500 | 27,288 | 24,127 | 3,161 | 1:39 |
| 2019 | 30,000 | 30,458 (previous report) | 23,074 | 7,384 | 4:52 |
| 2018 | 30,000 | 28,260 | 23,198 | 5,062 | 3:23 |
On account of this yr’s excessive utility numbers, the 2024 cut-off time is purported to be their largest cut-off time to this point. Judging by earlier years’ numbers, it’s anticipated that just about 30 per cent of candidates might be turned down; based mostly on previous cut-off instances and the variety of athletes declined, the cut-off is more likely to be seven to eight minutes. So for instance, if you happen to certified within the girls’s 40-44 age group with a time beneath 3:40, you’d seemingly must have run 3:32 or sooner to be accepted.
The B.A.A. stated in a press release that they’re at present verifying all instances and can notify candidates of their acceptance or non-acceptance throughout the subsequent three weeks.
For runners who don’t get accepted or who lack a Boston Marathon qualifying time, there’s nonetheless a possibility to take part within the marathon by means of the Financial institution of America charity program, which incorporates 160 non-profit and charitable organizations.
