Boston Marathon Medical Research Funding Program

The Boston Marathon has a long-standing tradition of supporting clinical and physiologic research, with published medical studies dating back to the early 1900s. Clinical and scientific questions surrounding athlete health and performance are often studied in field projects such as organized road races.

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has established a research funding opportunity for scientific researchers surrounding the Boston Marathon. The B.A.A. Medical Research Grant Program provides an annual request for proposal to conduct research at the world’s oldest annual marathon.

The program will provide investigators with a one-time itemized budget of up to $25,000 to complete the proposed work. One awardee will be determined by the B.A.A. Research Committee on a year-by-year basis.

Applications received by the August 1, 2026, submission deadline will be considered by B.A.A. leadership, medical directors and an external panel of scientific experts. Awardees will be chosen and notified with ample time to secure institutional review board approval.

Proposals for field studies aimed at delineating key aspects of athlete health and performance are encouraged, as are studies inclusive of Para athletes and studies that examine issues related to gender and diversity. Proposals and any program questions should be emailed to medical@baa.org for review and response by the B.A.A.

Submission requirements include:

• Cover letter
• Research Protocol Including:
  • Study title
  • Introduction: establishes the context for the research, highlighting the problem being addressed and its significance
  • Specific aims
  • Methodology: including research study design, study population, data collection methods, and analysis techniques
  • Recruitment plans and estimated sample size
  • Anticipated race weekend (i.e. finish line/race expo) procedures
  • Additional funding sources that will support the proposed work above and beyond B.A.A. funding if applicable
  • Indicate Institutional Review Board status (i.e. already approved, submitted (provide date), under review, or not yet submitted)
• Specifically, what is needed from the B.A.A.
  • Personnel, email recruitment send out, etc.
• Drafted documents on any research subject facing material (this includes surveys, recruitment email drafts, etc.)
• Tentative plan on how the race weekend will go. Will you need any “pre-race” activities at the expo? Day of race plan? Post-race?
• CVs from personnel
• Conflicts of Interest for any research staff
• Plan for dissemination – publication/presentation? Which professional society meetings and/or journals would be target for submission? When?
• Budget
  • If using specific equipment being purchased with research funds, we require an estimate of how much this would cost. (Need a quote from the specific company or link with the price from a vendor website, etc.)
  • If travel/accommodation to Boston would be required and how much funding would be allocated for this.
  • If conference travel is requested, please provide which conferences you plan to attend and funding allocation estimate.

The number of awardees for the unfunded research will be determined by the B.A.A. Research Committee on a year-by-year basis.

Please submit the following information within your proposal:

• Cover Letter
• Research Protocol including:
  • Introduction: establishes the context for the research, highlighting the problem being addressed and its significance.
  • Specific Aims
  • Methodology: including research study design, study population, data collection methods, and analysis techniques.
  • Timeline
  • Indicate Institutional Review Board status (i.e. already approved, submitted (provide date), under review, or not yet submitted)
• What is needed from the BAA (personnel, email recruitment send out, etc.)
• Anything research subject facing (survey, email drafts, etc.)
• CVs from personnel
• Plan for dissemination – publication/presentation? Which professional society meetings and journals would be target for submission? When?
• Conflicts of Interest from research staff

The Research Grant Committee will judge proposals on:

• The scientific merits and impact of the proposed hypothesis on the endurance race community.
• The quality and appropriateness of the study design.
• Feasibility of execution on race day.
• The ability to secure Institutional Review Board oversight.
• Subject recruitment, enrollment, and data collection that is thoughtful and nonintrusive.
• Investigator(s) scientific track record.

The Research Grant Committee includes the B.A.A. President and CEO, Medical Directors, and Medical Coordinator.

• Proposal Application due August 1, 2026
• Award / Decision Notification sent by October 1, 2026
• Confirmation of IRB approval due December 31, 2026
  • If IRB is not approval by 12/31/2026, the awardee must provide a letter of notice that the protocol will be approved by the time any study procedures / recruitment timelines need to be met.
• Post-Race Follow-up Report due June 15, 2027

Proposals for field studies aimed at delineating key aspects of athlete health and performance are encouraged, as are studies inclusive of Para athletes and studies that examine issues related to gender and diversity. Proposals and any program questions should be emailed to medical@baa.org for review and response by the B.A.A.