The short version: The B.A.A. received 33,656 qualifier applications for the April 19, 2027 Boston Marathon, up from 33,267 a year ago. The cutoff has not been announced. Acceptance and rejection emails go out by early October. New this year, about 1,000 qualifiers who miss the cutoff will be picked at random and offered entry. The 2028 qualifying window opened September 19, 2026, so any Texas marathon you run this season on a certified course counts toward 2028.
What the B.A.A. has said so far
- Applications: 33,656 during registration week, September 14–18, 2026, from 129 countries and all 50 states.
- Cutoff: not announced. The B.A.A. says it “will not predict the ‘cut-off’ time.” It said in July that the number of athletes accepted “will be consistent with recent years.”
- Notification: by email, “by early October.”
- New random selection: “Approximately 1,000 qualifiers will be randomly selected for entry” from applicants who qualified but missed the cutoff.
- Downhill courses: for the first time, times from courses with more than 1,500 feet of net elevation drop get a time-index adjustment.
For comparison, the 2026 race accepted applicants who were 4 minutes 34 seconds or more under their qualifying standard. The B.A.A. said at the time that 24,362 qualifiers were accepted or being processed. Applications rose slightly this year and the B.A.A. plans to accept about the same number of qualifiers, so a cutoff close to last year’s is plausible. That is our reading, not a B.A.A. prediction. Websites posting an exact cutoff before the B.A.A. announces it are guessing.
The 2027 qualifying standards
These are the standards from the B.A.A. qualifying page. The cutoff is how far under your standard you had to be.
| Age group | Men | Women | Non-binary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 2:55:00 | 3:25:00 | 3:25:00 |
| 35–39 | 3:00:00 | 3:30:00 | 3:30:00 |
| 40–44 | 3:05:00 | 3:35:00 | 3:35:00 |
| 45–49 | 3:15:00 | 3:45:00 | 3:45:00 |
| 50–54 | 3:20:00 | 3:50:00 | 3:50:00 |
| 55–59 | 3:30:00 | 4:00:00 | 4:00:00 |
| 60–64 | 3:50:00 | 4:20:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 65–69 | 4:05:00 | 4:35:00 | 4:35:00 |
| 70–74 | 4:20:00 | 4:50:00 | 4:50:00 |
| 75–79 | 4:35:00 | 5:05:00 | 5:05:00 |
| 80+ | 4:50:00 | 5:20:00 | 5:20:00 |
Missed it? Where Texans can chase a 2028 BQ
To count, a qualifying marathon must be on a course certified by USA Track & Field (or the foreign equivalent), with electronic timing and at least three official entrants. Check each race’s own site for its certification before you register. The big Texas marathons this season:
| Race | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Worth Marathon | Sun., Nov. 8, 2026 | Registration open on RunSignup |
| San Antonio Marathon | Sun., Dec. 6, 2026 | Registration open on RunSignup |
| Dallas Marathon | Sun., Dec. 13, 2026 | Registration on Race Roster |
| Houston Marathon | Sun., Jan. 17, 2027 | General registration sold out |
| Austin Marathon | Sun., Feb. 14, 2027 | Registration open |
| Cowtown Marathon | Sun., Feb. 28, 2027 | The race says its full and ultra are Boston qualifiers |
Our Texas marathon registration roundup has details for each race. For smaller Texas marathons, including flat and fast ones, browse every upcoming marathon in Texas. The November and December guides show which weekends are open.
Training for a BQ in Texas
The window rewards racing when it is cool. November through February is when Texas runners have the best shot, and summer training in the heat helps. Two guides from us: why your easy pace slows down in the Texas heat, and a side-by-side of the new Nike Alphafly 4 and adidas Adios Pro 5 racing shoes.
We will update this post when the B.A.A. announces the 2027 cutoff.
