Course guide & time predictor
Boston Marathon
Hopkinton to Boston, MA
Earn your place, then run your best
Elevation gain
950 ft
Course difficulty
2.0% slower than Berlin
Race month
April
See how your time translates to Boston Marathon
Enter a time from any other marathon to compare.
About the race
Boston is the only World Major you have to qualify to enter — and then it charges you extra. The point-to-point route runs 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boylston Street through eight towns and a terrain profile designed to punish flat-course speed merchants. It's the oldest annual marathon in the world (1897) and the one every recreational runner wants on their finisher's medal.
Course profile
The first five miles drop over 300 feet from Hopkinton. You will feel great. That's the trap. Miles 16–21 are the four Newton Hills; Heartbreak Hill at mile 20 is 90 feet of climb arriving when your glycogen is gone. If you haven't run miles 1–15 conservatively — not just by pace, but by effort — you'll walk from Heartbreak to the finish. Total elevation gain is approximately 800 feet.
Race-day conditions
April in Boston means anything from 28°F with ice pellets to 70°F and sun. In 2018, temperatures hit 70°F and median finish times dropped 30+ minutes. You need a heat race plan, not just a target pace. Check the 7-day forecast and build your pacing around the worst likely scenario.
Using the predictor
Boston doesn't reward your Chicago time — it exposes it. Running even splits from Hopkinton blows you up on Heartbreak. The correct strategy: hold back effort (not just pace) on the opening descent, bank fitness for miles 16–21, and accept that your slowest 5-mile split will be miles 17–21. Use Compare Courses to translate your flat-course time to a realistic Boston target.
Boston qualifying standards
To enter Boston, you must first run a qualifying marathon within the BAA's registration window. The standards below are the official minimums by age group on race day. Meeting the standard does not guarantee entry — in most years the field fills before all qualifiers can register, and the effective cutoff runs 5–7 minutes faster than the published standard.
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 3:00:00 | 3:30:00 |
| 35–39 | 3:05:00 | 3:35:00 |
| 40–44 | 3:10:00 | 3:40:00 |
| 45–49 | 3:20:00 | 3:50:00 |
| 50–54 | 3:25:00 | 3:55:00 |
| 55–59 | 3:35:00 | 4:05:00 |
| 60–64 | 3:50:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 65–69 | 4:05:00 | 4:35:00 |
| 70–74 | 4:20:00 | 4:50:00 |
| 75–79 | 4:35:00 | 5:05:00 |
| 80+ | 4:50:00 | 5:20:00 |
In 2024, the cutoff was 5 minutes 29 seconds faster than the qualifying standard. Plan to beat your standard by at least 5 minutes to have a strong chance of registration.
Common questions
How much harder is Boston than a flat marathon like Chicago or Berlin?
Boston's course difficulty multiplier is approximately 1.6% slower than Berlin, the flattest reference course. On a 3:30 finish that's about 3–4 minutes. But the real cost is pacing error: runners who don't account for Hopkinton's early downhill lose 5–10 minutes on Heartbreak Hill, not from the hill itself but from accumulated glycogen debt.
Do I need to beat the BQ standard by more than a few seconds?
Yes. In most years the Boston field fills before all qualifiers can register. In 2024, the effective cutoff was 5:29 faster than the standard. Plan to beat your qualifying standard by at least 5 minutes to have a reasonable chance of getting in. Use this tool to predict whether your fitness can support that buffer.
What is Heartbreak Hill and why does it break runners?
Heartbreak Hill is a 90-foot climb at mile 20, the last of four Newton Hills. It isn't unusually steep — the problem is timing. By mile 20 most runners are approaching glycogen depletion, and the accumulated downhill stress from the first five miles has trashed the quads. The hill itself takes 90 seconds; the damage it does to your final 10K takes much longer.
What is a realistic Boston finish time for someone who ran 3:30 at Chicago?
Using course difficulty alone, a 3:30 Chicago time projects to roughly 3:33–3:35 at Boston. In warm or hot April conditions that gap widens. Use the Compare Courses tab above to see the exact adjustment, including weather inputs for your target race date.