Boston Marathon Entry Deadline 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1

The entry deadline for this year's Boston Marathon is 
February 1, one month earlier than last year's deadline. The 
race will be held on Patriots' Day, Monday, April 15 and will 
have a field size of 15,000 runners. 

The Boston Athletic Association will accept applications 
postmarked February 1 at its Hopkinton office. Interested 
athletes may download and print out an application from the 
official  Boston Marathon Web 
site
Additionally, for the first time entrants to the Boston 
Marathon have the option of applying online. Instructions 
and details for online registration are also available on the 
web site.  

Race participants must submit a qualifying time 
between October 1, 2000 and 
February 1, 2002 at a certified marathon as part of the 
application to the Boston Marathon. The official charities, 
which were chosen for the 106th Boston Marathon Charity 
Program, are now only accepting qualified, entered athletes 
to run the Marathon on behalf of a charitable cause. In 2002, 
approximately 1,000 participants, representing the 15 
charities are expected to raise more than $5.7 million.

"While the final number of entrants will not be official until 
race day, we expect the number of entrants to closely 
approach the field-size limit," said B.A.A. Executive Director 
Guy Morse.  

As part of its overall support of the Boston Marathon, John 
Hancock Financial Services will announce its elite field of 
athletes in late-March. John Hancock has been the principal 
sponsor of the Boston Marathon since 1986, with the 106th 
race marking the seventeenth year of the company's historic 
sponsorship. 

The field size for last year's Boston Marathon was 15,606, 
which was the third largest race in Boston's history. The 
record was set in 1996, when 38,708 participated in the 
100th running of the Boston race. According to the Guinness 
Book of World Records, that figure remains the largest 
starting field in the history of the sport. 

The B.A.A. Boston Marathon is the world's oldest and most 
prestigious annual marathon. The race begins in the rural 
town of Hopkinton and finishes in Boston's Back Bay. For 
further information, please contact the Registration office at 
508-435-6905.