Boston Marathon Qualifying Pace Calculator

How it is calculated

The tool looks up your qualifying standard in a built-in table by age group and division. Men's standards run from 2:55 for ages 18-34 up to 4:45 for 80+, women's from 3:25 up to 5:15; the non-binary division uses the women's table. The goal time is standard − buffer (buffer in minutes, 0 to 60). Required pace is goal / 42.195 per km and goal / 26.2188 per mile. The status compares your current marathon time (in total minutes, so 195 is 3:15:00) with the goal and shows the gap as minutes:seconds; the pace change is that gap spread over 42.195 km. Ages under 18 or over 100, a current time outside 100-600 minutes and a buffer outside 0-60 give no result. The standards are those coded in the tool and may differ from the official ones in another year, and acceptance also depends on the field of applicants.

Common mistakes

• Typing the current time as 3.15 or 3:15. The field is total minutes, so a 3:15:00 marathon is 195; a value like 3.15 is outside the accepted range and gives no result.
• Entering the age you will be on race day but expecting a different group. The group follows exactly the age you type and changes at 35, 40, 45 and so on.
• Setting a buffer and then reading 'Short of the standard' as a failing time. With a buffer the comparison is against the standard minus the buffer, so you can be under the raw standard and still be told you are short.
• Choosing the wrong division. Men's and women's standards differ by 30 minutes in the youngest group, and non-binary uses the women's table.
• Taking the standard as guaranteed entry. The tool only does the arithmetic; the buffer field exists because meeting the raw standard is not always enough.