These 9 Marathons Could Give You Entry to Boston in 2024 and 2025

Who doesn’t love a two-for-one deal?

Savvy Boston Marathon runners know there’s a good way to score a Boston qualifying (BQ) time that lasts for two years: by running a qualifying race in early September, when you can use it to register for the upcoming Boston and the one after that.

Take the 2024 Boston Marathon, for instance. Race organizers announced this week that registration will take place for next April’s race this year between September 11 and September 15.

In order to register, applicants must submit a valid BQ run between September 1, 2022 and the end of registration, which is 5 p.m. on September 15, 2023. According to the BAA, the qualification window for the 2025 race opens on September 1, 2023.

So race results during that two-week period—between September 1 and September 15, 2023, when the qualifying periods overlap—count for the next two Bostons.

Of course, because most races are held on weekends, this narrows down the double-dipping possibilities to races held on just four days this year: September 2 and 3 and September 9 and 10.

If you’re choosing a race in hopes of securing a qualifying time that’s good for two Bostons, remember to double check that the race is USATF certified, or, for an international event, AIMS certified.

It’s no guarantee that running a qualifying time for your age and gender will get you into the race (and we can’t help you determine what the cutoff will be for the 2024 event). But here are a few domestic races that fall on those September days and, if you’re fast enough, might help you get to the starting line in Hopkinton on two consecutive years.

• Marquette, Michigan
• Saturday, September 2
• Current registration fee: $125

Scouting report: The point-to-point course drops 814 feet and runs alongside Lake Superior, ending at the Superior Dome on Northern Michigan University’s campus.

• Koloa, Hawaii
• Sunday, September 3
• Current registration fee: $265

Scouting report: It’s hilly and humid. Given the challenges of the course, a BQ is far from a lock, but the scenery is stunning.

• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Saturday, September 9
• Current registration fee: $115

Scouting report: The point-to-point course drops 5,255 feet along the route. Get your quads ready. The average finishing time is 4:03, fast by U.S. standards.

• Washington, D.C.
• Saturday, September 9
• Current registration fee: $90

Scouting report: This is a no frills out-and-back on the canal path alongside the Potomac River, but in 2022, 21 of 118 marathoners ran a BQ.

• Geneva, Illinois
• Saturday, September 9
• Current registration fee: $155

Scouting report: The race is designed to get people into Boston. To that end, you have to already be close to the qualifying standard for your age group and gender by showing an “almost” result at a different marathon or a comparable half marathon time.

• Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Sunday, September 10
• Current registration fee: $125

Scouting report: It’s the same idea as the Chicagoland race: flat, fast, pacers for every group. But it’s run by a different organization with a different registration platform.

• Holland, Michigan
• Sunday, September 10
• Current price: $115

Scouting report: The point-to-point course along Lake Michigan is shady and flat. The race offers some unusual treats at aid stations: blueberries at mile 20, for instance, and candy and watermelon at mile 24.

• North Bend, Washington
• Sunday, September 10
• Current registration fee: $159

Scouting report: The course says it’s “over 20 miles of steady downhill,” including a two-mile run through a tunnel. The race also has dates on the same course in June and August, but those won’t give you an opportunity for double-dipping.

• Erie, Pennsylvania
• Sunday, September 10
• Current registration fee: $90

Scouting report: A two-loop course is flat, shaded, and has support every mile for runners. In 2022, 35 percent of the field qualified for Boston.