SO are the trials now an open race to all countries, otherwise it is going to be a very lonely race, especially for the men. 2;11+ just to get in, that's no joke, and looks like just two guys so far..If it is open, it must have some decent prize money to attract other countries runners. I didn't see that mentioned anywhere.

My understanding is it is still US only and qualification to get in to this race stands as it used to with the whole A and B standard thing, so there will be many people running. Flotrack's article may be more clear, I think they said 480 something people entered in the race

---

808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

ok, that makes more sense, it sounded like they changed the standard. So whether you get in on an A or B standard, it still just matters what you run on that one day, so what really is the point of the A standard? Get to be on the front line at the start?

A standard comes with some financial support, below are the standards, for this year. I'm sure this will all be changed for 2024

Event"A" "B" Men Marathon2:15:002:19:00 Half Marathon 1:04:00 Event"A""B"WomenMarathon2:37:002:45:00 Half Marathon 1:13:00

---

808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

thanks, had not seen that yet..
makes sense with the new odd Olympic standards, seems reasonable.
Tokyo will reward the heat-adapted, so trials in Atlanta in late Feb isn't optimal either, but at least it's a fair qualifier now.

Not only would it have been unfair to USA runners basing their plans on qualifying for the Olympics, it would have been a major blow to the race sponsor (ATC - Atlanta Track Club) and the TV network sponsor. We'll have to see if the USA marathon gets Gold Label Status going forward or if this was an exception given the recent rule change.

This would impact the sponsors more than the athletes who could alter their future plans by racing in "fast" marathons for their spot on the US team. What's a future USA race promoter/sponsor going to do - create a "fast" course in hopes of it translating to fast times for those who haven't hit the gold standard? This will eliminate many financially healthy sponsors/locations who just don't have the course. Maybe we could run the USA marathon trials on the Indy 500 race track, with a party in the infield, pit crews, fans in the stands and on a cool cloudy day. It would be easier to televise too.

---

Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

I think it should be a one time deal (my conjecture) and I haven't heard how other countries are being treated if they have a similar team selection race. Post-Tokyo, I can imagine we could have plenty of US runners go and get qualification, not by the extreme time standards or the difficult top 10 in WMM but by the top 5 in Gold label races. I mean look at the list below, Hengshui Lake Marathon, Airtel Delhi Half Marathon... I think people can plan their schedules appropriately if they really want the minimum Olympic standard.

https://www.iaaf.org/...old-label-road-races

---

808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo