Marathon Compass
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Boston Marathon

Hopkinton, MA · Mon, April 19, 2027 · 09:32

Marathon
World Major
qualifier

Approachable debut · moderate course · very high friction

Best forApproachable debut8.0/10

Weighs the things that decide a debut: terrain, weather, crowd support.

Course difficultyModerate8.4/10

Net downhill (~574 ft drop), cool race morning.

Planning frictionVery high friction3.4/10

Qualification required · ~$1,505 all-in from South Florida.

Data confidenceVerified

Date verified at the official source; course and climate data on file.

Legacy Green Score 7.1/10 · method

Difficulty profile

Race-day climate (10-year history)

At the start line and start hour · Open-Meteo historical archive

Temp
49°F
Dew point
41°F
Precip
0.3 mm
Elev gain
250 m
Field
30,000

Can you qualify here?

Projected at race day for M 18-34, from your 4:00:00 marathon + training runway.

Training plans for this race

Cost & registration

Entry
$255
Travel cost (est.)
~$1250
All-in
~$1505
Register →

World Major. Qualifier-only. 2027 standard M 18-34 is 2:55; recent cutoff buffer ~4-5 min faster than standard.

About the Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is a marathon held in Hopkinton, MA on April 19, 2027. With a Green Score of 7.1/10, it's a moderate race. The course is net downhill — ~574 ft of drop from start to finish with modest climbing (~31 ft of gain per mile). Typical race-day weather is a cool 49°F, dew point ~41°F (10-year normal). Entry is around $255. Marathon Compass rates every race across terrain, climate, logistics, travel, and field size so you can find the one that fits you — and build a training plan tuned to your fitness.

Race-morning weather, quantified

Typical start-line conditions (10-year history (Open-Meteo)): 49°F with a dew point of 41°F. On the temperature-plus-dew-point scale used by our pace engine, that's 90 — a 0% pace penalty. Heat should not be a factor at the Boston Marathon in a typical year — race your fitness.

100
130
150
90 — typical race morning at the Boston Marathon on the temp+dew scale (100 = no penalty · 130 = +2% · 150 = +4.5%)

Method: temp°F + dew°F lookup from the heat-adjustment chart our training plans use daily. Sign in to see this adjustment applied to your own projected finish.

What the Boston Marathon really costs

First marathons cost more than the entry fee — budget the whole weekend before you commit.

Entry fee
$255
Travel + 3 hotel nightsestimated from South Florida; your cost varies by home airport
~$1250
All-in estimate
~$1505

Registration for the Boston Marathon

Entry strategy

Entry requires a qualifying time — see the standards above.

  1. Race dayApril 19, 2027

Plan B: if entry doesn't go your way, Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach (March 21, 2027, open entry, Green Score 9.2) or A1A Marathon (Fort Lauderdale) (February 14, 2027, open entry, Green Score 8.6) keeps the same training block on schedule.

Where to stay

Point-to-point course: stay near the finish, not the start — you'll be glad at mile 26, and shuttles run to the start. Hotels near the Boston Marathon start selling out 8–10 months ahead with race-weekend minimum stays — book refundable, book early. The links below are pre-filled for race weekend (April 17, 2027 April 20, 2027).

Plan the day itself

When to wake up, when the corral closes, and the exact clock time Boston Marathon spectators should be at each split for your goal pace — plus a link you can send to whoever's coming to watch.

Build your race-day timeline →

Compare head-to-head

Race and date verified against the official race source on 2026-07-17. Race-morning climate from Open-Meteo — 10-year history at the start line and start hour. Race fees, dates, and rules change often — report incorrect information.