It’s a dream for many runners to take part in one or more of the Major Marathon Races across the world. But for most of the Major US and World Marathons, runners of all speeds have a chance to compete (if you’re lucky enough to have your name drawn in a lottery or you agree to run for charity). For those who prefer not to leave it to chance or raise lots of funds for your place, you can aim to hit the qualifying standards set by the individual marathons.
To help you decide if you can achieve the qualifying times by taking part in the Great Welsh Marathon, we’ve broken down what it takes to get into some of the majors like: Boston, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Berlin and London.
You’ll need to note that the qualifying window for the 2024 races should be sought by the individual (for the race you are seeking to participate in).
Boston Marathon
Qualifying times for the 2024 race were broken down by age as follows: (runners who identify as nonbinary have the same standards as women):
- 18 to 34 years old (3:00 for men, 3:30 for women)
- 35 to 39 years old (3:05 for men, 3:35 for women)
- 40 to 44 years old (3:10 for men, 3:40 for women)
- 45 to 49 years old (3:20 for men, 3:50 for women)
- 50 to 54 years old (3:25 for men, 3:55 for women)
- 55 to 59 years old (3:35 for men, 4:05 for women)
- 60 to 64 years old (3:50 for men, 4:20 for women)
- 65 to 69 years old (4:05 for men, 4:35 for women)
- 70 to 74 years old (4:20 for men, 4:50 for women)
- 75 to 79 years old (4:35 for men, 5:05 for women)
- 80-plus years old (4:50 for men, 5:20 for women)
Chicago Marathon
The current qualifying times for guaranteed entry into Chicago are broken down by age:
- 16 to 29 years old (3:05 for men, 3:35 for women)
- 30 to 39 (3:10 for men, 3:40 for women)
- 40 to 49 (3:20 for men, 3:50 for women)
- 50 to 59 (3:35 for men, 4:20 for women)
- 60 to 69 (4:00 for men, 5:00 for women)
- 70 to 79 (4:30 for men, 5:55 for women)
- 80-plus (5:25 for men, 6:10 for women)
New York Marathon
The current time standards for the New York marathon are broken down like this:
- 18 to 34 years old (2:53 for men, 3:13 for women)
- 35 to 39 (2:55 for men, 3:15 for women)
- 40 to 44 (2:58 for men, 3:15 for women)
- 45 to 49 (3:05 for men, 3:38 for women)
- 50 to 54 (3:14 for men, 3:51 for women)
- 55 to 59 (3:23 for men, 4:10 for women)
- 60 to 64 (3:34 for men, 4:27 for women)
- 65 to 69 (3:45 for men, 4:50 for women)
- 70 to 74 (4:10 for men, 5:30 for women)
- 75 to 79 (4:30 for men, 6:00 for women)
- 80-plus (4:55 for men, 6:35 for women)
Did you know…
That the New York Marathon is also the only marathon major on this list that accepts half-marathon times as qualifiers? Here are the 13.1-mile times you have to hit to secure a spot, according to your age:
- 18 to 34 (1:21 for men, 1:32 for women)
- 35 to 39 (1:23 for men, 1:34 for women)
- 40 to 44 (1:25 for men, 1:37 for women)
- 45 to 49 (1:28 for men, 1:42 for women)
- 50 to 54 (1:32 for men, 1:49 for women)
- 55 to 59 (1:36 for men, 1:54 for women)
- 60 to 64 (1:41 for men, 2:02 for women)
- 65 to 69 (1:46 for men, 2:12 for women)
- 70 to 74 (1:57 for men, 2:27 for women)
- 75 to 79 (2:07 for men, 2:40 for women)
- 80-plus (2:15 for men, 2:50 for women)
Tokyo Marathon
If you’re an overseas runner (i.e not from Japan), you may be able to qualify for the “Run as One” Semi-Elite overseas field, which is normally capped at 300 runners.
The current qualifying times for this are broken down by gender:
- 2:32 (men)
- 3:19 (women)
Berlin Marathon
Here are the time standards required to guarantee your place at Berlin, broken down by age group:
- Age 18 to 44 (2:45 for men, 3:00 for women)
- Age 45 to 59 (2:55 for men, 3:20 for women)
- Age 60 and up (3:25 for men, 4:10 for women)
London Marathon
Last but not least we check out the qualifying requirements for London. Only U.K. residents can time-qualify for this event and the number of time-based entries was capped at 6,000 for 2019 (3,000 for each gender).
If you live in the U.K. the “Good for Age” time standards are as follows (broken down by age group):
- 18 to 39 (3:00 for men, 3:45 for women)
- 40 to 44 (3:05 for men, 3:50 for women)
- 45 to 49 (3:10 for men, 3:53 for women)
- 50 to 54 (3:15 for men, 4:00 for women)
- 55 to 59 (3:20 for men, 4:05 for women)
- 60 to 64 (3:45 for men, 4:30 for women)
- 65 to 69 (4:00 for men, 5:00 for women)
- 70 to 74 (5:00 for men, 6:00 for women)
- 75 to 79 (5:15 for men, 6:20 for women)
- 80 to 84 (5:30 for men, 6:40 for women)
- 85-plus (6:10 for men, 7:10 for women)