World Marathon Majors qualifying times for 2027

The seven Abbott World Marathon Majors all publish fast-entry times, and they mean seven different things. Only Chicago turns a time inside the standard into a place from any certified marathon.

2027 race days: Tokyo March 7, Boston April 19, London April 24-25, Sydney August 29, Chicago October 10 and New York November 7. Berlin's registration page does not give its date yet. Ages are as each race counts them: Boston, Chicago, New York and Sydney use your age on race day, London your age when you ran the qualifying time, and Berlin your year of birth.

Find your age and read across: the standard for your group at each major with age-group times, in hours and minutes. BOS Boston, LON London, CHI Chicago, NYC New York, SYD Sydney, BER Berlin.

Men

Women

Boston, Chicago, New York and Sydney publish the same times for non-binary runners as for women; London and Berlin publish none. Chicago's youngest group starts at 16. London's first group is 18-39 and its oldest groups run on (85-89: 6:10 men, 7:10 women; 90+: 7:20 and 7:45), the 80+ row shows its 80-84 times. Berlin groups by year of birth (born 1983-2009, 1968-1982, 1967 or earlier), shown here at the age those years reach in 2027.

Good For Age is open to UK residents only, and your age group is your age on the day you ran the qualifying time. The 2027 qualifying window ran from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. There are 6,000 places, 3,000 for men and 3,000 for women, and they go to the fastest in each age band, so running inside the time does not by itself get you in. London publishes no non-binary standards. Its times are in the matrix above.

Faster runners can use the Championship route instead: under 2:38:00 for men and 3:10:00 for women in a marathon, or 1:11:30 and 1:26:00 in a half, with UK athletics membership. It has 1,200 places, 600 per sex, also filled fastest first. Both routes for 2027 have closed. Sources: London Marathon Events, Good For Age and Championship entry, checked 31 October 2026.

Berlin sorts fast runners by year of birth, not by age group, and only three groups exist: 2:45 for men and 3:10 for women born 1983 to 2009, 2:55 and 3:30 for 1968 to 1982, and 3:25 and 4:20 for 1967 or earlier. The time must come from a marathon and be no more than two years old.

The organiser is explicit: registering as a fast runner does not guarantee a spot, and it publishes no quota. An entry with proof that does not check out goes into the lottery. For 2027, lottery and fast-runner registration run from October 1 to November 12, 2026, with results on December 3, 2026. Berlin publishes no non-binary standard, and its registration page does not yet give the 2027 race date. Source: Generali Berlin Marathon, registration, checked 31 October 2026.

Tokyo is the one major with no age-group qualifying standard. Its only time-based route for overseas runners is the RUN as ONE Semi-Elite program: under 2:22:00 for men and 2:50:00 for women, on gun time, at a World Athletics Label road race. It takes at most 25 men and 25 women, fastest first, and anyone not selected goes into the general lottery.

For the March 7, 2027 race, entry ran from July 31 to August 13, 2026, with results on September 1. Everyone else enters through the lottery or a charity place. Source: Tokyo Marathon, RUN as ONE, checked 31 October 2026.

Sydney, the newest major, runs a High Performance Program with standards by age on race day, including non-binary times that match the women's. Its standards are in the matrix above. The qualifying time must come from a certified marathon run since July 1, 2025, on a course that drops no more than 457 m.

There are 1,200 places: 600 Sub-Elite places for the fastest overall and 600 Good for Age places, fastest first within each age and gender group. Those selected get a guaranteed, paid entry; meeting the standard alone does not secure one. Applications for the August 29, 2027 race ran from September 14 to 18, 2026, and applicants not selected move into the general ballot. Source: TCS Sydney Marathon, High Performance Program, checked 31 October 2026.

The three American majors have their own pages here, each with a lookup for your age and time and the pace every standard needs:

• Boston Marathon qualifying times: the standard earns the right to apply, and the cut-off decides entry. It was 5:17 for 2027, when 8,019 qualifiers were turned away.
• Chicago Marathon qualifying times: five minutes faster than Boston in most groups, and the only major where meeting the standard at any certified marathon is a guaranteed entry.
• NYC Marathon qualifying times: guaranteed at five NYRR races, a fastest-first place from anywhere else.

If Boston is the goal, our Boston qualifier courses index lists the races where the time is most achievable.