Indianapolis Marathon sees 39 runners qualify for Olympic trials
Record numbers of people are qualifying for the US Olympic Marathon Trials
The US Olympic Marathon Trials are just over three months away. While the trials have previously been seen as a goal reserved for Olympic hopefuls, it’s becoming clear that this is no longer the case. The event is producing historically large fields with organizers now expecting around 600 total runners and the Indianapolis Marathon just helped to bump that predicted entry number.
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On Sunday, 39 runners from the event qualified for the trials–that’s nearly three times the number that qualified in 2018. Of those 39 runners, 22 of them were women who ran under the marathon standard of 2:45:00. Of those 22 women, four of them are masters runners. The 2016 trials were held in LA, where 457 runners qualified. With three months still remaining until the gun goes in Atlanta, 522 runners have qualified.
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In March of this year the IAAF released the 2020 Olympic standards, they were times so fast that they bettered certain Canadian records. But after the initial shock of the new marks, people began rising to the occasion. And this elevated the game of lots of runners, not just elites or Olympic hopefuls.
Of the 522 runners going to the Olympic trials, roughly 20 of them (ten men and ten women) actually have a shot at going to the Olympics. But for everyone else in the race, it’s still a very cool thing to get to participate in and an exciting goal to set for themselves. Runners can qualify for the trials one of three ways: half-marathon or marathon ‘A’ or ‘B’ standards.
The standards
Men Marathon – ‘A’ 2:15:00 ‘B’ 2:19:00
Half-Marathon – 1:04:00
Women Marathon – ‘A’ 2:37:00 ‘B’ 2:45:00
Half-Marathon – 1:13:00
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The window for qualification is open until January 19, 2020 and if Indianapolis was any indication, the California International Marathon, one of the few races between now and then, is sure to be a fast one.
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