The standards are published by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.
Before the 2012 marathon, qualification allowed runners to register and run the race.
Since 2012, "qualifiers" who do not meet additional cutoff criteria (see below) are not eligible to enter the marathon by virtue of time qualification.
Beginning with the registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon, a cutoff beneath the qualifying times was instituted.
For example, for the 2012 marathon, when registration closed and the 1:14 cutoff was announced, a runner who "qualified" with a time faster than 3:10:00, actually needed a time of 3:08:46 to earn entry into the marathon.