Boston 2014 Registration Process

The dynamics for Boston 2014 changed due to the bomb blasts at the finish line of Boston 2013. The interest among runners to qualify and run in Boston 2014 went up significantly. Many runners who were not intending to run Boston 2014 were now motivated to show solidarity with BAA, city of Boston  and the running movement  in general. As a result the number of registrations for  marathons in the US between May and September saw a definite uptick On May 16th B.A.A. announced  that the 5,633 official entrants who had passed the halfway point but were unable to finish will be guaranteed entry into next year's marathon. As per their press release these entrants would not need to qualify again but will need to pay the  registration fee.(These runners were eventually invited to register between August 1 and August 29th - nearly 5000 of them registered). After some speculation BAA finally announced an increase of the field size by 9000 from 27,000 to 36,000 runners. Nevertheless  there was a lot of discussion whether all BQ runners would get in. Here's another report on this. Once the registrations opened on September 9th there were discussions on many forums as to the number of spots that would be left for the 2nd week (for all BQ runners) and where the cut-off would be as it was pretty much certain that even with the increased field size not all runners would get in. 

Finally notifications to the runners who registered during the week of September 16th were sent out on September 25th and it turned out that the cut-off was BQ- 1:38 and unfortunately 2976 runners who BQ'ed and registered did not make it.

There was also a lot of discussion as to why the number of slots for qualifiers was only 500 when the field size was increased by 9000. The thinking was that maybe the no. of charity slots was increased by a large number which of course did not go well with the BQ'ed runners who had applied for registration. BAA clarified that this was not the case. 

The following from the BAA website provides details of the applications received and the cut-offs by category :

Registration for runners who met the B.A.A.’s Qualifying Standards for the 2014 Boston Marathon began on Monday, September 9 at 10:00 a.m. ET using a “rolling admission” schedule and continued through Saturday, September 14 at 10:00 p.m. ET. Registration re-opened on Monday, September 16 at 10:00 a.m. and application submissions were received through Friday, September 20 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

• 25,654 applications were received during the two weeks of registration (September 9, 2013 through September 20, 2013).
• 22,679 applicants have been accepted or are in the process of being accepted, pending verification of their qualifying performance (17,229 from Week One; 5,450 from Week Two). 
• Details of the B.A.A.’s two-week registration process for Qualifiers can be found on the following web page:
  http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/athlete-registration/registration-information.aspx
• 2,976 applicants were unable to be accepted due to the large number of eligible qualifiers who submitted an application for entry combined with field size limitations.
• During Week One, when the fastest of all Qualifiers submitted their application for entry:
  4,484 Qualifiers accepted met their qualifying time by 20 minutes, 00 seconds or faster;
  6,866 Qualifiers accepted met their qualifying time by 10 minutes, 00 seconds or faster;
  5,879 Qualifiers accepted met their qualifying time by 05 minutes, 00 seconds or faster.
• From Week Two, 5,450 Qualifiers were accepted.  These were Qualifiers who were one minute, 38 seconds or faster than the Qualifying time for their age group and gender.
• An additional 5,625 runners who were 2013 Boston Marathon starters who reached the half marathon checkpoint or later but did not have the opportunity to cross the finish line on Boylston Street on April 15  were invited to participate in the 2014 race, some of whom were qualified. Of those runners, 4,615 registered for 2014, 1,649 of whom were Qualifiers.
• In addition, 402 Qualifiers who have an active streak of ten or more consecutive Boston Marathon completions also entered during a pre-registration period in August and have been accepted. 

Those who submitted a verified qualifying performance that was one minute, 38 seconds (1:38) or more under the qualifying standard for their age and gender have been accepted into the race. Qualifying performances for the 2014 Boston Marathon must have been run between September 22, 2012 and September 20, 2013.  Notices via email to those accepted will be issued by the B.A.A. beginning today.

The names of those runners who have been accepted will be posted on the “Entrants” page of the B.A.A.’s web site: http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/entrants.aspx

Some of those entrants who ultimately will be accepted will not be notified of their acceptance or have their name appear because validation of qualifying performances is ongoing. The amount of time to verify the performance of qualifiers can vary from race to race.

 2014 Boston Marathon: Men’s Qualifying Standards and Accepted Times

AGE GROUP	STANDARD ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION	QUALIFICATION TIMES ACCEPTED FASTER THAN AND INCLUDING
18-34	3hrs 05min 00sec	3hrs 03min 22sec
35-39	3hrs 10min 00sec	3hrs 08min 22sec
40-44	3hrs 15min 00sec	3hrs 13min 22sec
45-49	3hrs 25min 00sec	3hrs 23min 22sec
50-54	3hrs 30min 00sec	3hrs 28min 22sec
55-59	3hrs 40min 00sec	3hrs 38min 22sec
60-64	3hrs 55min 00sec	3hrs 53min 22sec
65-69	4hrs 10min 00sec	4hrs 08min 22sec
70-74	4hrs 25min 00sec	4hrs 23min 22sec
75-79	4hrs 40min 00sec	4hrs 38min 22sec
80 and over	4hrs 55min 00sec	4hrs 53min 22sec

2014 Boston Marathon: Women’s Qualifying Standards and Accepted Times

AGE GROUP	STANDARD ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION	QUALIFICATION TIMES ACCEPTED FASTER THAN AND INCLUDING
18-34	3hrs 35min 00sec	3hrs 33min 22sec
35-39	3hrs 40min 00sec	3hrs 38min 22sec
40-44	3hrs 45min 00sec	3hrs 43min 22sec
45-49	3hrs 55min 00sec	3hrs 53min 22sec
50-54	4hrs 00min 00sec	3hrs 58min 22sec
55-59	4hrs 10min 00sec	4hrs 08min 22sec
60-64	4hrs 25min 00sec	4hrs 23min 22sec
65-69	4hrs 40min 00sec	4hrs 38min 22sec
70-74	4hrs 55min 00sec	4hrs 53min 22sec
75-79	5hrs 10min 00sec	5hrs 08min 22sec
80 and over	5hrs 25min 00sec	5hrs 23min 22sec

“While 2013 has been challenging, we appreciate and acknowledge the outpouring of support which we have received and to which we have been witness,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director.  “For 2014 and with a larger field size, we wanted to achieve the correct balance among the field of participants by accepting as many qualifiers as possible, accommodating those who were prevented from crossing the finish line in 2013, and recognizing some who were directly involved in 2013. While we would like to accept all qualified runners, field size limits are in place to ensure the best possible experience for all runners in the field.  We will next address the allocation of remaining slots in as fair a fashion as we can across people and groups who are or represent those most affected by the events of April 15.”

Notices to those who submitted an application for entry but who were not accepted were also issued today.

In cooperation with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the eight cities and towns along the Boston Marathon route, the B.A.A. has set the field size for the 2014 Boston Marathon at 36,000 official entrants. At least seventy percent of the field will be comprised of athletes who have met the qualifying standards. The balance will consist of invitational entrants,many of whom run for local charitable organizations. Since 1989, between the B.A.A.’s Official Charity Program and principal sponsor John Hancock Financial’s Non-Profit Bib Program for the Boston Marathon, more than $170 million has been raised for charity.