How to Train for the Boston Marathon

Boston is the marathon you earn. Most of the 30,000 runners on Patriots’ Day got in with a qualifying time, and even that is not enough for everyone: every year the B.A.A. turns away thousands of qualifiers whose time was not far enough under their standard. Once you are in, the course asks something different from the flat city marathons. It drops out of Hopkinton, then makes you climb through Newton when your legs are already tired.

This page covers both parts: how to qualify, and how to train for the course itself. The facts at the top show the details of the next edition.

TL;DR: Aim well under your qualifying standard, not just under it: in recent years you needed between about four and a half and seven minutes of margin. For the race, train your legs for downhill running as much as for the hills, because the early descent is what makes the Newton hills hurt. Run the first half slower than it feels, and practise with the gel the course hands out.

How do you qualify for Boston?

You need a chip time from a certified marathon, under the standard for your age group on race day. For 18 to 34 year olds that is 2:55:00 for men and 3:25:00 for women and non-binary runners, and it gets slower with every age group.

Meeting the standard is only the first step. The field is 30,000, and when more qualifiers apply than there is room for, the fastest times relative to their standard get in first. That gap, the cut-off, was 5:29 for 2024, 6:51 for 2025, 4:34 for 2026 and 5:17 for 2027. Since 2027, the B.A.A. also draws about 1,000 extra places at random among qualifiers who just missed the cut-off.

What that means for you:

• Plan your qualifier for a margin of 6 to 7 minutes, not seconds. A time just under the standard is a gamble.
• Pick a qualifier you can run well, then time your season around it. The qualifying window for a given Boston opens in September, a year and a half before the race, and closes at registration week the September before.
• Watch the downhill rule. Since the 2027 registration, times from courses with a large net drop get an adjustment: 5 minutes for a drop of 1,500 to 2,999 feet, 10 minutes for 3,000 to 5,999 feet, and courses that drop more do not count.

What makes the Boston course different?

• It is point to point, and it starts downhill. You run from Hopkinton to Boylston Street. The elevation profile on the official course map drops from about 450 feet at the start to about 200 feet around mile 5. Downhill running feels easy and fast, and it is exactly what wears out your quads.
• The hills come late. The Newton hills start at mile 17.1, and the crest of Heartbreak Hill comes at mile 20.8. None of them is long or steep on its own. They hurt because of where they sit: after 17 miles, on legs the descent has already worn down.
• It starts late in the morning. The waves leave between about 10:00 and 11:30, after a bus ride from Boston Common and a wait in Athletes’ Village. You run in the warmest part of the day, and you eat breakfast hours before you start.

How much time do you have on the course?

Boston has no time limit counted from your own start. The official finish closes at a clock time, 17:30 in 2026, and anyone later is listed as a post-race participant instead of a finisher. That makes your wave matter. Work it out for your own start: the time between your wave and the finish closing, divided by 26.2 miles, is the average pace you need. An example with the 2026 times:

For a qualifier, that is rarely a problem. For charity runners, who often start in the last wave, it is worth knowing: you have about six hours, including any walking and every stop.

When should you start training?

Boston is on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April. Accepted runners hear in late September, which leaves about 29 weeks.

1. The first two months: base. Easy volume, strides, strength work twice a week.
2. From 18 to 20 weeks out: the specific block. The B.A.A.’s own plans run 20 weeks. Long runs, goal-pace work, and hills.
3. The last two weeks: taper. Volume drops, intensity stays.

That block runs through winter for most runners in North America and Europe. Plan for some of the long runs on a treadmill, and set the incline to rehearse the Newton hills.

How do you train for the hills and the descent?

• Run downhill on purpose. Add controlled downhill stretches to your long runs, or finish hill repeats with an easy run back down. Your legs need to learn to absorb the impact, not just to climb.
• Put hills late in long runs. Place a hilly section after the first two thirds of a long run, so you practise climbing on tired legs, the way Newton will feel.
• Use moderate inclines. The B.A.A.’s own training plans use hill intervals at a 3 to 5% incline. You do not need steep repeats; you need to hold effort on a long, rolling stretch.

How should you pace Boston?

Start slower than the course invites. The first miles drop, the start is crowded, and goal pace feels easy. A fast first half on a downhill start is the most common way to fall apart on Heartbreak Hill.

• Run by effort through the early miles, not by pace. On a descent, the same effort gives a faster split; let it, but do not push.
• Accept slower splits from mile 17 to 21. Hold effort on the hills, then use the run down toward Boston College to get back on pace.
• Save something for the last 5 miles. After the crest at mile 20.8 the course heads back into the city, past the CITGO sign with a mile to go, and onto Boylston Street.

How do you plan your fuel?

The course has water and a sports drink at every mile from mile 2, on both sides of the road, and gel at a few points in the second half. The facts at the top show the brands and locations of the latest edition.

• Train with the same products, or carry your own. If the course gel does not sit well with you, find out in training, not in Wellesley.
• Plan breakfast for a late start. With a start between about 10:00 and 11:30 and an early bus, your last meal comes hours before the gun. Bring something to eat in Athletes’ Village and rehearse that timing on a long run.

How does a coach help for a race like Boston?

Boston has two goals in one: running the qualifier with enough margin, and then running Boston itself well. A coach plans the season around both, adjusts it when a qualifier goes wrong or a winter week falls apart, and helps with the decisions on this page: how much margin to aim for, how hard to run the first half, how to train downhill.

On Coachbox you can tell us exactly that. Choose “Help me find a coach” when you sign up, give qualifying for Boston or the Boston Marathon as your goal, and we introduce you to a coach who fits. Or read how to find a running coach who fits you first.

Every fact on this page has a source

Standards, the cut-off, the course, waves, aid and the finish closing time come from the B.A.A.’s own pages, linked in the facts at the top. We checked them on the date shown there. The course stays the same; the date, fee, cut-off, start times and aid change every year, and we update the facts at the top when the B.A.A. publishes them.