Boston qualifying time: men 75–79
Men aged 75–79 on race day must run 4:35:00 or faster on a certified course to qualify for the 2026 Boston Marathon.
Standard
4:35:00
Required pace
6:31/km
10:29/mi
Realistic target
4:29:00
Standard minus a ~6:00 cutoff buffer
Hitting the standard only makes you eligible to apply. Recent acceptance cutoffs ran from 4:34 (2026) to 6:51 (2025) faster than the standard, so treat 'standard minus 6:00' as your real target. Note: from the 2027 qualifying window, times run on steeply net-downhill courses are adjusted upward (+5:00 for 1,500–2,999 ft of drop, +10:00 for 3,000–5,999 ft).
Get the pacing plan
Our closest standard pacing plan for this qualifying time is sub 4:30 — open it on the course you're targeting:
The best races to run your BQ
Berlin Marathon
Berlin, Germany · September
Valencia Marathon
Valencia, Spain · December
Chicago Marathon
Chicago, USA · October
Seville Marathon
Seville, Spain · February
Rotterdam Marathon
Rotterdam, Netherlands · April
California International Marathon
Sacramento, USA · December