RunRace USA › Massachusetts › Boston Marathon
The complete, course-first guide
Boston Marathon
Monday, April 19, 2027 · Wave schedule — see logistics
Hopkinton, MA
The race in 60 seconds
First run in 1897, Boston Marathon has had time to become part of the city's running calendar. The marathon is a true point-to-point: its finish sits about 24.0 miles from the start as the crow flies. The modeled line carries about 897 feet of total climb and ranges from roughly 7 to 472 feet above sea level. The elevation profile calls out Heartbreak Hill, the Route 128 overpass, Firehouse Hill so the defining work is visible before race morning. Look for Galen Stone Tower (Green Hall, Wellesley College), Gasson Hall (Boston College), Fenway Park, 660 Beacon Street (Citgo Sign) in the flyover, with recognizable forms modeled from architectural records.
Fly the course
The whole course, built from the best available published route trace and an extruded model of Boston. Scrub it, change the camera, or let it play. Nothing here is a video: it is drawing the city live.
Route statusCurrent community course trace cross-checked against the published route. public RWGPS trace matching the Hopkinton-to-Boylston course
The route line uses the best published course trace available. Public-domain USGS and USDA aerial photography plus USGS 3DEP elevation are baked into RunRace USA, so the flyover makes no paid map API or third-party runtime requests. Buildings, roads, parks and water use OpenStreetMap, ODbL. This is photographic terrain with modeled architecture, not photogrammetry. Bridge approaches, elevations and facade details are approximations; the organizer's published route remains the reference.
The elevation profile
This Marathon profile covers 26.2 miles, ranges from roughly 7 to 472 feet, and contains about 897 feet of modeled climb.
- Heartbreak Hill, mile 19.88 to 20.65: 93 feet up, about a half-mile rise from Centre Street to Hammond Street; steepest pitch around 2.5%.
- the Route 128 overpass, mile 15.83 to 16.45: 77 feet up, a long half-mile-plus climb out of Newton Lower Falls over the highway, fully exposed to wind with almost no crowd.
- Firehouse Hill, mile 17.42 to 17.8: 64 feet up, shorter than the Route 128 climb but steeper per foot, with no recovery between the two.
- , mile 19.09 to 19.57: 60 feet up, 2.4% average.
- , mile 3.88 to 4.72: 44 feet up, 1.0% average.
The route at a glance
Gold is the selected modeled course; route provenance is stated beside the flyover.
Race-week weather, measured
At the start line, April 15-23 averaged a low of 39°F and a high of 58°F across 2016-2025. The same window reached 82°F at its warmest and 28°F at its coldest. Measurable rain appeared on about 32% of sampled days. Treat the range, not just the average, as the packing list.
Pace it by effort
The profile and grade strip come from the same route currently loaded in the flyover. Use even pace as a baseline, then protect effort on the highlighted climbs and exposed sections.
| Finish | Even pace | Halfway |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 6:52 /mi | 1:30 |
| 3:30 | 8:01 /mi | 1:45 |
| 4:00 | 9:09 /mi | 2:00 |
| 4:30 | 10:18 /mi | 2:15 |
| 5:00 | 11:27 /mi | 2:30 |
| Published course limit, 6:00 | 13:44 /mi | 3:00 |
Build your race weekend
The course
Live 3D flyover, synchronized elevation, route map, mile-by-mile shape and local landmarks.
Where to stay
71 mapped places to stay, compared by the endpoint that matters.
Expo and logistics
Packet pickup, the published weekend schedule, transit, parking and current entry tiers.
Spectators
Route-aware viewing anchors and a plan that respects the actual course geography.
The weekend
A city guide built around the places modeled beside the course.
Official race site
The organizer's current dates, entry details and late course notices.
Common questions
Do I get in just by running a qualifying time?
No, and this is the single biggest misunderstanding about Boston. Hitting the published standard for your age and gender only buys you the right to apply. The B.A.A. takes applications during a fixed window (September 14-18, 2026 for the 2027 race, closing at 5:00 p.m. ET on the Friday), then sorts every applicant by how far under their standard they ran and fills the field from the fastest margin down. In the 2025 cycle you had to beat your standard by 6:51 to be safe, and 12,324 qualifiers were turned away. Plan on needing a cushion, not a squeak.
What are the actual qualifying times for 2027?
The open standard is 2:55:00 for men 18-34 and 3:25:00 for women and non-binary athletes 18-34. From there it loosens in steps: 3:00:00 / 3:30:00 at 35-39, 3:05:00 / 3:35:00 at 40-44, 3:15:00 / 3:45:00 at 45-49, 3:20:00 / 3:50:00 at 50-54, 3:30:00 / 4:00:00 at 55-59, 3:50:00 / 4:20:00 at 60-64, 4:05:00 / 4:35:00 at 65-69, 4:20:00 / 4:50:00 at 70-74, 4:35:00 / 5:05:00 at 75-79, and 4:50:00 / 5:20:00 at 80 and over. The B.A.A. has said the 2028 standards are unchanged from these.
Does registration open at a set minute, so I should be at my laptop?
No. Boston is explicitly not first-come, first-served. Every application submitted before the Friday 5:00 p.m. ET deadline is treated identically regardless of when it lands, and acceptances go out in early October. Applying at 10:01 a.m. on the Monday gains you nothing over applying Thursday night.
Which race can I use as my qualifier, and when does it have to be run?
For 2027 the qualifying window ran from September 13, 2025 through September 18, 2026. The race must be an outdoor, certified 26.2-mile course (USATF, AIMS or a national equivalent), promoted publicly in advance, with at least three officially entered competitors and transponder timing. Virtual races, treadmill efforts, time trials and handicap starts do not count. An Ironman marathon leg only counts if that segment is separately timed and certified.
Is my big downhill PR still worth face value?
Not any more, and this rule bit a lot of people for the first time in the September 2026 registration. Courses with a net elevation drop of 1,500 to 2,999 feet now have 5:00 added to your submitted time, courses dropping 3,000 to 5,999 feet have 10:00 added, and anything dropping 6,000 feet or more is not a valid qualifier at all. Net drop is measured start point to finish point, so a steep-but-loop course is unaffected.
I missed the cut-off by a few seconds. Is that automatically the end of it?
Not for 2027. The B.A.A. has added a random-selection component that draws roughly 1,000 additional entries from qualifiers whose times fell below the cut-off. It is a genuine lottery among near-misses, not a wait list you can influence, and 1,000 spots against a rejection pool that has run to five figures means the odds are long. Apply anyway if you qualified.
How do waves and corrals work, and can I move around?
Your bib tells you both: the background colour is your wave and the boxed number is your corral. In 2026 the race expanded from four waves to six, starting at 10:00, 10:15, 10:28, 10:41, 11:01 and 11:21 a.m., with eight corrals split by route into Hopkinton (corrals 1-4 via Maple and Church Streets, 5-8 via Grove and Main). Assignment is by qualifying time. You are allowed to drop back to a later wave or corral, but moving up to an earlier one risks penalties or disqualification. The 2027 wave times had not been announced as of August 2026.
What happens if I am running late on race morning?
The hard deadline is the bus, not the corral. Loading happens on Charles Street at Boston Common by wave, from about 6:45 a.m. for Wave 1 through 9:00 a.m. for Wave 6, and the last bus leaves Boston Common at 9:30 a.m. Miss it and there is no official way to reach a start line 26 miles away in a town whose roads are closing. Hopkinton has only limited participant parking. If you are merely late to your corral, you can start with a later wave; you cannot start with an earlier one.
Can I check a bag at the start and get it in Boston?
No. Nothing is transported from Hopkinton to the finish, which surprises first-timers every year. There are two separate bags: a one-gallon Start Area Bag for the bus and Athletes' Village, whose contents you leave behind in Hopkinton, and an official clear plastic finish-area gear bag you drop in Boston before you head out. In 2026 finish-area drop-off ran 5:45 to 9:15 a.m. and pick-up 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Only the official B.A.A. bag is accepted, so do not plan around a duffel of your own.
What gear is actually banned?
Personal hydration systems such as CamelBaks are not allowed, nor are weight vests, backpacks, glass containers, any container over one litre, weapons, selfie sticks, strollers, suitcases, large props or flags bigger than 11 by 17 inches, or costumes that cover your face. GoPro-style action cameras are discouraged. What you can carry is a single waist pack no larger than 5 by 15 by 5 inches for food, medication, ID and keys, plus a one-gallon clear plastic bag of food or sports drink on the bus. Headphones are discouraged but permitted.
Is there a time limit, and what do the sweep buses mean for me?
The finish line closes at 5:30 p.m. If you cross after that you will still be given a medal, but you are not recorded as an official finisher. Because the last wave does not leave Hopkinton until well after 11 a.m., the practical allowance for a back-of-the-field runner is around six hours of running rather than the 6.5 to 7 hours the clock time suggests. Medical sweep buses run the course and you are welcome to get on one to rest, but boarding ends your race officially, so the ride is a genuine decision rather than a free shuttle up the road.
Can I defer, transfer or sell my entry if my build-up falls apart?
Almost never. Entries are non-refundable, non-transferable and non-deferrable. Bibs cannot be given, sold or swapped, and nobody else may wear your number, which the B.A.A. enforces at corral entry. There are exactly two escapes: the pregnancy and postpartum deferment policy, which lets an athlete who is pregnant or within 24 weeks postpartum move to one of the next two runnings with physician documentation, and the optional registration protection insurance you can buy at registration, which may refund the fee under its own defined conditions.
What are the course records, and why do sources disagree?
The men's record is 2:01:52 by John Korir in 2026, which took more than a minute off Geoffrey Mutai's 2:03:02 from 2011. On the women's side, Sharon Lokedi ran 2:17:22 in 2025 to break Buzunesh Deba's long-standing 2:19:59 from 2014, then won again in 2026 in 2:18:51. Be aware that the B.A.A.'s own history page was still listing Deba's 2:19:59 as the women's course record as of August 2026, so the official site contradicts its own results archive here; the 2:17:22 is the current mark.
How old is this race, and does the date ever move?
The first Boston Marathon was run on April 19, 1897 and won by John J. McDermott in 2:55:10, making 2027 the 131st edition. The race is tied to Patriots' Day, the third Monday in April in Massachusetts, so it is always a Monday and always a state holiday in Boston, which is why the whole city treats it as a spectator event and why you should not book a Monday-afternoon flight home. In 2027 that falls on April 19, the same calendar date as the original.
Register for the 2027 Boston Marathon →on Athletes' Village
Course geometry provenance is stated beside the player; elevation profiles always use the same route loaded there. City geometry is OpenStreetMap, ODbL. Aerial imagery is from USGS and USDA; other images carry their own source credits. Weather figures use Open-Meteo reanalysis for April 15-23 across 2016-2025 at the start line. Schedule, prices and expo hours were checked in 2026-08-26 and are the fields most likely to move: confirm them on www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon before you book anything. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it fast.