Posted: December 14, 2005

Athletics: USATF Long Distance Running Notes

Top marathons express interest in hosting U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon

INDIANAPOLIS - USA Track and Field announced Tuesday that official expressions of interest have been received from cities or organizers wishing to host the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon, which will select the men's and women's 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Teams.

With the success of U.S. marathoners since 2004, several high profile events and cities have expressed the desire to be the stage on which the 2008 Olympic Marathon team is selected.

Among the interested bidders are legendary U.S. marathons including The B.A.A. Boston Marathon, ING New York City Marathon, Twin Cities Marathon and up and coming marathons such as the Road Runner Akron Marathon.

"Each of the interested events is well known for their ability to appeal to mass participants while still shining a spotlight on the athletic performances of the top U.S. athletes," said USA Track & Field President Bill Roe. "We are thrilled with the quality of interested hosts for these Olympic trials."

Final bid proposals are expected to be received by USA Track & Field on January 9, 2006. The announcement of the trials site(s) expected to be mid-April, 2006.

For more information visit USATF.org.

2006 Association Athlete Development Program information available

Information on the 2006 Association Athlete Development Program (AADP) is now available. The AADP assists in the development of the next generation of great American distance runners. A vital part of USATF since 1993, this program allows Associations and Men's and Women's LDR Committees to work collectively to provide emerging elite athletes the ability to experience much needed competition at the National level. The Olympic Marathon Trials have included many former AADP participants and the recent success of our distance squads in international competition has shown that guidance and support of our developing runners is instrumental to this success.

Associations are encouraged to be creative to help with travel funds for selected athletes. The chance to travel to a National Championship provides excellent opportunities to meet new people and test athletic skills against the best athletes in the United States. The experience is one that is not to be missed.

For more information visit USATF.org.

Long Distance Running Resources

America's Running Routes

America's Running Routes allows runners to search all routes in a particular city or to narrow their search to find routes on a specific type of terrain, from hotels, in parks, from trailheads or from running stores. Business travelers can find routes to run from the hotel where they are staying or from local parks.

Visit www.usatf.org/routes

USATF Calendar

Search for long distance running events including national and association championships and grand prix events.

www.usatf.org/calendars/search.asp.

Resources for Event Directors

How to organize an event, race sanctions, course certifications, competition rules, how to submit results, championship bidding information and more.

www.usatf.org/groups/EventDirectors.