“This time next year on the third Monday of April, the world will return to this great American city to run harder than ever, and to cheer even louder, for the 118th Boston Marathon. Bet on it.”
– President Barack Obama

After an immense outpouring of support, strength and solidarity following the explosions near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, there is no doubt that the 2014 Boston Marathon will be bigger and better than ever.

As Obama predicted, people from both near and far have already pledged their support to run in the 118th Boston Marathon, which takes place on Monday, April 21, 2014.

For example, Dick and Rick Hoyt – the father-son duo who have completed 31 Boston Marathons – have pledged to compete in 2014.

More than a dozen former Boston Marathon champions have also stated that they will run in 2014, dedicating the marathon, in part, to the crowds on the sideline. “When they cheer for one Boston runner, they cheer for all of us,” the champions wrote in a pledge.

And, inspired by the short but powerful phrase “Boston Strong,” average Joes want to run next year’s Boston Marathon, too. Pledges have come in the form of 140-chracter Twitter updates and in Facebook statues, and Google Trends indicates an incredible spike in search for the phrase “how to qualify for Boston Marathon.”

The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) will open registration for the 2014 Boston Marathon in September, although a specific date has yet to be set. According to Runner’s World, here is how registration works:

The B.A.A. has not yet detailed the 2014 system, but says that the fastest qualifiers will be allowed to register first. For the 2013 marathon, registration opened first to runners whose qualifying times were 20 or more minutes faster than their age group’s standard. Over a two-week period, registration was gradually opened to slower qualifiers. After that two-week period, there were still spots available for qualifiers, and those were filled on a first-come, first-served basis for people who qualified at fall 2012 marathons. Registration closed in early October.

Translation: You have about four months to train and qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon before registration closes this fall. Here are a few upcoming BAA-approved qualifying races that fall before the registration for the 2014 Boston Marathon.

The BAA has a full list of top-feeder races in 2013 that allow you to qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon here. Please note that these are only top-feeders, meaning that other marathons outside of this list could qualify for the 2014 registration. In that case, the BAA advises to contact specific races for more information.

For more races, check out this infographic, as well as this FAQ from Runner’s World on how to qualify.

You can read more stories on Boston startups, technology and innovation at https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/inno