Boston marathon , cut off time 2023

Well, there wasn't a cutoff time this year. There are going to be some folks like myself who qualified who chose not to run. 2021 Boston also counted for 2022 & 2023 so there might be a decent chunk of people who passed on this spring for next.

It's hard to guess but maybe we'll see something back in the 2:00-5:00 range, putting you firmly on the bubble. It all depends on how fast Boston is this year & other majors/big races. 2022 had to have been a slow year with it being 60 & humid.

I know it's logistically a lot harder but I think Boston should start looking closer to qualifying courses. If a 2:57 runner gets left out for running that time on a flat or hilly course in maybe tough conditions but a 2:55 runners gets in that ran one of those super downhill courses, you have a problem.

Don't get me wrong, I get where you're coming from but I can't see how it would be worth the effort. Obviously some courses are harder than others but how do you draw the line?

What about weather conditions? Is running 2:57 at Chicago in 80 degrees technically better than running 2:55 at CIM in 40 degrees?

When you're operating in the "bubble" area, there will definitely be some cases of slightly less deserving people getting in over slightly more deserving... the way out of this is to keep training until you've surpassed the bubble by enough time that you don't have to worry about being on the edge anymore.

The cutoff line was moved to 3:00 in 2020. Since then, the race was cancelled, cut by 1/3, and will be ran with a vax mandate 6 months after the last one this year. So basically it’s a crapshoot trying to predict the cutoff time for 2023.

That said, as a wild guess I’d say we aren’t going to see another cut line for a while unless marathon gets some unexpected boom in popularity. The last “regular” year for Boston was 2019 and the cut was as high as it had ever been and was still less than 5 minutes. The super shoe revolution had already taken hold in 2019 so I don’t see times getting that much faster unless marathoning in general, or Boston in particular, sees a big popularity boom or they decide to reduce the field in the future.

First time , being able to get a qualifying time for Boston! On my 3rd marathon . But being in the bubble area, is stressful. It brings a lot of uncertainty! Not sure what will happen until September! But just hope everything goes fine, and the cut off time, won’t be too much! But just going to continued to improve while I am waiting, but first still recovering , from my marathon this past Sunday !

That’s what I am thinking also, since it was recently move from 3:05 to 3:00. Not sure if they will add that much cut off time, under the new time’s!

But I was looking into that link that I included in the post. And seems like 26k runners have qualifying times already for 2023 . Without some major races yet to happen. Could be interesting , how they decide to do things

Well, first off, congratulations. Not trying to rain on your accomplishment at all and my comments weren't specifically geared towards you.

In your case though no reason to stress. You're 26 and based on your level of experience and current progressions you should have quite a bit of room for continued improvement... so even assuming you don't get in with a 2:57 (though my money says it's probably good enough), then you'll probably get in next time with a low 2:50's or faster... at that point you'll be laughing at your 2:57 self and wondering what all the stress is about.

anyway, best of luck with your recovery and hope for future success!

You always aim for 5 minutes. C’mon Bro do the due diligence. This info is out there. Looks like you’ll be doing a late summer race if you wanna join us next spring.

Thank you so much for those words brother 🙏🏽! And no worries, I understand what you are trying to say!

and you are right, but when you are so close, you are just so eager! To earn you’re first BQ, but I know is not easy.

And I hope you are right! I would love to get 2:50 one day and qualify to Boston like nothing and also to NYC marathon!

Thank you for those kind words brother! God bless and good luck to you also!

Yeah I totally agree which is why I was careful with wording/phrasing. There are so many factors that go into a good marathon time. But the cutoffs & your corral is based on your time. If someone runs 2:57 on a flat course but someone else runs 2:55 at St. George one might get in & one might not even though I would take the 2:57 runner H2H. No good way around this but I feel like you're going to see more runners choosing events with thousands of feet of elevation loss. I have a buddy who ran one of those courses & was 10:00+ faster than his open PB.

When you're operating in the gray area there's going to be some jockeying around where someone might get in with a slightly less deserving situation than someone is doesn't get in.

If someone really cared enough they could probably develop a handicap system that took into account course and weather conditions and adjusted accordingly. At the end of the day people would wind up being more unhappy.

Someone who runs 2:55 on a downhill course is still a darn good runner so I don't think anyone can be that outraged. Personally, I'd take a flat course over those massive downhill courses any day. People always talk about the downhill section at the beginning of Boston is what trashes the legs even before you hit the Newton hills. I can't imagine how I would feel during the last 6.2 miles of a marathon if I'd just come off of that much elevation drop. Downhills pound the crap out of my legs!

Over the past 10 years, seven times the cutoff has been less than 2:53. Three times it's been more. That means you have a 70% chance of running Boston 2023, with that time.

Congrats on the BQ. I tried for 22 years and finally broke through this year with -6:09. But because of the 2021 debacle, for a long time, I wasn't sure that would get in for 2022 and it was nerve racking, like you're feeling now. So, you know what I did? I made plans to run even faster. It turns out that BQ did eventually get me in for 2022. But guess what. My contingency plan to get even faster in case it didn't, all but guaranteed it. I just popped a BQ -14:57 this weekend, which makes me a lock for 2023, if I so choose.

My advice: Cover that 30% chance that you might not get in, by taking your training to the next level and shoot for getting at least 5-7 minutes under the cutoff for your age group, between now and registration for 2023. You'll probably get in for 2023, regardless. But making this backup plan increases your chances from 70%, to nearly 100% (-7 minutes was likely a once-in-century thing we'll not likely see again).

Where I got the numbers (scroll down to "Qualifying History" and "Cut-off Time"):

baa.org

Qualify | Boston Athletic Association

Link:www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/qual...

The qualifying times were adjusted in 2020. Other than the reduced field race last year and a portion of the early 1980’s, a 2:57:xx would always be good enough to race. I can’t imagine next year being any different unless COVID (or war or pestilence or whatever biblical affliction) causes BAA to reduce the field again.

Congrats on the BQ. Some act like it’s no big deal, but to most of us it’s pretty cool.

I am aiming for one more Boston, but with injuries I think I’ll miss 2023. It is a really cool race except the early bus ride.

I would wager that you will get in with your time. If you are still in shape, it wouldn’t hurt to run one more race prior to registration.

Thank you for that! You gave me a little more hope brother! Let’s hope, 2023 will not be that much changes.

Thank you for that! I really do appreciate it! I recently, started getting serious on running again just 3 years ago. Started because I was overweight, but I just fell in love with it, and have not stop since! But yes you are right, I have been thinking about it a lot since my race, a week ago. Since I am so close, for a BQ. But is not guaranteed yet.

But that’s the plan brother, keep going at it, and just keep improving my time! I will love to continued to get faster with time, and not have this worry about if my time is good enough or not for a BQ.
But not planning to do another marathon until late in the fall, time to improve on speed for now!

but congrats to you! That is amazing to hear! You’re hard work, has rewarded you! That is beautiful by 14:57! Glad to hear that!

thank you for that information! That really helps!
but trust me! Like I mention I will keep improving, and aiming to get better everyday! Is a great feeling, when you see all yours training pay off.

sometime those early morning long runs, or freezing cold runs are not easy at all. But we have no choice, and when race day comes, and you get a PB is such a great feeling 🙏🏽🙌🏽!

Thank you so much, for those words, I really do appreciate it!

and yes if I do manage to qualify, it will be my first one like I mention.

and it will be a huge deal for me! Seeing all my hard work for the past 3 years, pay off! Staying consistent, no matter what! Hard for some to understand how much this will really mean, for many people!

i hope you have a speedy recovery! And somehow manage to get in 2023, but if not sometime in the near future!

i would love to do one more during spring time! But honestly, I think I might have injure my hamstring. Since this last race, I have been doing only east runs since my race, I do not want to rush back.

but thank you once again!

Ahh I can only hope! Exited to see what happens in September! I cannot wait! Just hope everything continues to get back to normal! Like it has been this year , and 2023 is another normal race for Boston! So they will not have to do any major cuts on time, to reduce the field size

On the findmymarathon site you linked, there is a calculator where you can put in your time/age and see what your chances are of getting into Boston.

I put in yours and it said BQ by 2:53 would have gotten you into Boston 8 out of the previous 11 years. So it seems you have a pretty good shot given recent history.

findmymarathon.com

Boston Marathon Qualifying Times (2012- 2023)

View the current Qualifying Times and historical Cut-off Times (2012-2023) for the Boston Marathon.

Link:findmymarathon.com/boston-marathon-qua...

Any idea when they will be releasing times for each wave? Trying to see if I'll be wave 1 or 2?