FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
125th Boston Marathon Qualifier Acceptances Announced
BOSTON-The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has begun to notify
qualified applicants of their acceptance or non-acceptance into the
in-person 125th Boston Marathon to be held on Monday, October 11, 2021.
Qualifiers who were 7 minutes, 47 seconds (7:47) or faster than the
qualifying time for their age group and gender will be accepted into the
125th Boston Marathon. In total, 23,824 applications were received by the
Friday, April 23 registration deadline. A total of 14,609 athletes applied
with a qualifying time equal to or faster than 7 minutes, 47 seconds under
their respective qualifying standard or applied through the early
registration period for consecutive runners. Applicants are in the process
of being accepted, pending verification of their qualifying performance.
The B.A.A. was unable to accept 9,215 qualifiers due to field size
limitations. The 125th Boston Marathon field size has been established as
20,000 entrants to ensure social distancing throughout the race route,
especially at the start and finish. Among those accepted into the 125th
Boston Marathon are athletes from 87 countries and all 50 U.S. states.
The balance of the field will be comprised of invitational entrants,
including runners participating as part of the Boston Marathon's Official
Charity Program and John Hancock's Non-Profit Program, as well as invited
professional athletes. In 2020, the B.A.A. Official Charity Program and
John Hancock's Non-Profit Program combined to surpass the $400 million
milestone raised since the charity program's inception at the 1989 Boston
Marathon. John Hancock has served as principal sponsor of the Boston
Marathon for 36 years.
"As we embark on the return to in-person racing, we look forward to
welcoming runners to Boston as part of our historic 125th running of the
Boston Marathon this fall," said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. President and Chief
Executive Officer. "With this year's milestone anniversary, we both
celebrate those who were accepted into this year's race and also
acknowledge the many runners who achieved qualifying times. We look forward
to a memorable 125th Boston Marathon and hope those who were not accepted
into the in-person race will join the global community of athletes
participating in the virtual race in October."
Registration for qualified athletes for the 125th Boston Marathon took
place April 20–23 within the B.A.A.'s online platform, Athletes' Village.
Registration was not first-come, first-served. Applications and qualifying
times submitted during the application window were verified and ranked by
the B.A.A. based on the amount of time an athlete had run under their
respective qualifying standard. Qualifying performances for the 125th
Boston Marathon must have been run between September 15, 2018 and April 23,
2021.
In addition to the in-person road race, the B.A.A. is also holding a
historic virtual Boston Marathon in celebration of the 125th running of the
Boston Marathon. Registration for the virtual race opened on March 30 and
has already seen athletes from 105 countries and all 50 states register.
The virtual marathon will take place over race weekend October 8–10.
Starting today, applicants will receive notice of acceptance or
non-acceptance. Qualified applicants not admitted into the in-person race
will have an opportunity to register for a unique virtual 125th Boston
Marathon package until Friday, May 14 at 5:00PM. The qualifying window for
the 2022 Boston Marathon will begin on September 1, 2019 and will continue
through the conclusion of the to-be-announced 2022 Boston Marathon
registration period later this fall.
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