Boston Marathon
Monday, April 19, 2027 · Boston, USA
Updated Oct 17, 2026
Unidirectional point-to-point with severe net negative elevation drop. The first half's 1,275ft descent destroys quadriceps via eccentric loading; the Newton Hills at miles 16-21, including Heartbreak Hill, arrive precisely when glycogen is depleted.
Boston Marathon elevation gain
The Boston Marathon has 815 ft (248 m) of elevation gain and 1275 ft (388 m) of loss over 26.2 miles (42.195 km).
Is the Boston Marathon hard?
Yes. The Boston Marathon scores 10.0/10 on the Kenyan Running Difficulty Index, the hardest of the 12 marathons we rate.
The median race-day temperature is 14.5°C (58°F).
The score is built from four factors: hills, race-day weather, turns and bridges, and the late miles where a runner is most likely to lose time. See the score breakdown.
Pacing the Boston Marathon
Training for the Boston Marathon?
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The score breakdown
The Kenyan Running Difficulty Index combines four weighted factors. The heaviest weight (35%) is on Tactical Brutality. That is what a Kenyan coach watches first: where the field actually blows up.
- Highest KR Difficulty in the set.
- Atmospheric Stress is high due to historic weather variability (38°F to 87°F across last decade).
- Tactical Brutality near cap because the combination of quad damage + Newton Hills + late-stage timing punishes most pacing strategies.
Score confidence: preliminary. Computed from public course, weather, and prize data.
Course profile
- Elevation gain
- 248m / 815ft
- Elevation loss
- 388m / 1275ft
- Highest point
- 141m
- Surface
- paved smooth
- Late-stage climbs (after mile 18)
- Heartbreak Hill at miles 20-21 (after preceding rollers from mile 16). Final 5 miles roll downward on damaged quads.
- Profile notes
- Opening 4 miles drop 267ft (eccentric loading). Newton Hills mile 16-21. Net downhill but mathematically NOT a fast course due to quad damage timing.
Race day
- Date
- Monday, April 19, 2027
- Official field size
- 30,000
- Entry
- Qualifying time by age and gender. For 2027 a runner needed 5:17 under their standard: 33,649 qualifiers applied for a 30,000 field and 8,019 were turned away. From 2027 registrations: qualifying times from courses with net downhill drop ≥1,500ft incur an index penalty (+5 minutes for 1,500–2,999ft drops; +10 minutes for 3,000–5,999ft drops); courses dropping ≥6,000ft are disallowed.
- Time limit
- 6 hours; the finish area closes at about 5:30 PM
- Aid stations
- Poland Spring water and lemon-lime Gatorade Endurance from mile 2. Maurten gels at miles 11.8, 17 and 21.5.
Weather (historical)
- Median temp
- 14.5°C
- Temp range
- 3°C to 30°C
- Humidity
- 72% at start
- Wind
- Variable; recent editions have shown 15 km/h E/NE headwind
- Notable weather events
- 2018: severe rain, snow, upper-30s temperatures
- 2012: intense heat reaching 87°F
Prize money
- Total purse
- $1,284,500 (2026/2027)
- Winner
- $150K
- Course record bonus
- $50K
- Notes
- Course is ineligible for World Record status due to net downhill exceeding regulatory limits. Highest total purse among the listed races.
Course records
Recent winners
Top East African winners (Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda) across the last 10 verified editions: 9 men, 9 women.
| Year | Men's winner | Time | Women's winner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | John Korir (KEN) | 2:01:52 | Sharon Lokedi (KEN) | 2:18:51 |
| 2025 | John Korir (KEN) | 2:04:45 | Sharon Lokedi (KEN) | 2:17:22 |
| 2024 | Sisay Lemma (ETH) | 2:06:17 | Hellen Obiri (KEN) | 2:22:37 |
| 2023 | Evans Chebet (KEN) | 2:05:54 | Hellen Obiri (KEN) | 2:21:38 |
| 2022 | Evans Chebet (KEN) | 2:06:51 | Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) | 2:21:01 |
| 2021 | Benson Kipruto (KEN) | 2:09:51 | Edna Kiplagat (KEN) | 2:25:09 |
| 2019 | Lawrence Cherono (KEN) | 2:07:57 | Worknesh Degefa (ETH) | 2:23:31 |
| 2018 | Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) | 2:15:58 | Desiree Linden (USA) | 2:39:54 |
| 2017 | Geoffrey Kirui (KEN) | 2:09:37 | Edna Kiplagat (KEN) | 2:21:52 |
| 2016 | Lemi Berhanu Hayle (ETH) | 2:12:45 | Atsede Bayisa (ETH) | 2:29:19 |
Training for Boston Marathon?
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Sources
- https://www.baa.org/news/record-field-of-qualifiers-accepted-into-the-131st-boston-marathon-presented-by-bank-of-america/
- https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/the-course/
- https://www.baa.org/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon
- https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/content-hub/korir-wins-boston-2026
- https://www.baa.org/news/2026-and-2027-registration-updates-boston-marathon-presented-bank-america/
- https://www.worldmarathonmajors.com/content-hub/boston-to-adjust-downhill-bq-times