USA Track & Field in Planning Mode for 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials

The road run to Los Angeles is already in process for USA Track & Field, which has started the process to find a host for its marathon trials and hopes to have the selection of a host wrapped up within the next year.

The 2028 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon will select the U.S. team of six athletes (three men, three women) for the Games in Los Angeles. It is assumed the trials will also coincide with the USATF Marathon Championships.

The date must be the weekend of March 25–26, 2028, and preference will be given to bids that include the Para Marathon Trial as well. Interested destinations must signal an intent to bid by September 1 before site visits in the first part of 2026 with an eye toward awarding the bid in May 2026.

“Hosting the Trials means you are a part of the journey toward LA 28 and saying that you sent athletes to L.A.,” said Rob Mullet, USATF’s associate director of events. “That’s probably the biggest selling point for the hosting is to is just to be a part of something that that hasn’t happened for 32 years.”

Around 400 destinations received information on the bidding process between USATF, Playeasy and the Sports ETA portal. Mullet, a 2016 Olympian for Team Great Britain who joined USATF within the past year, is working on the site selection process along with Amy Begley, USATF director of long distance running programs and a 2008 Olympian.

“Athletes are going to start qualifying (for the Trials) September 1,” Mullet said. “It’s such a big event that that one athlete might qualify, but they might have in some cases 10 people who want to come to watch. From an event experience, the more planning time for the athletes and families and spectators is important. And from a logistical standpoint, obviously more time to plan is better.”

What a Bidder Needs

Both Begley and Mullet have worked in the past for the Atlanta Track Club, which hosted the Trials in 2020, “so for us being able to work on the RFP this time around, we probably pulled more life and job experience from the past,” Begley said.

Weather conditions for the race are crucial, obviously — “it needs to be in a place that’s not going to snow on March 28,” said Begley with a laugh. Between CVBs and sports commissions, working with a local organizer well-versed in race organization will also be key.

“(In 2024,) Greater Orlando Sports Commission, they were the ones that started the bid, but they also worked with Track Shack who did the operational stuff,” Begley said. “When Atlanta Track Club hosted, they pretty much did it all by themselves because they are a big organization and they had the organization and the people to be able to do it. We know some people are already reaching out and working with different people to help them put bids together.”

The RFP also includes detailed needs for (among other things) security planning, volunteer recruitment, transportation for athletes and emergency medical service needs along the course.

“The personal aid stations and bottles is a huge thing, especially for the athletes, along with safety and security,” Begley said. “Having the network of being able to pull in enough high quality volunteers, being able to work with the city is huge as long as they and most of the cities are involved in the RFP process.”

One thing that is also important is the course and making sure it’s fast enough to get qualifying times for runners. Having a course that replicates what competitors will see at LA28 is not as high a priority.

“We don’t know what the course in L.A. will be for the Olympics,” Begley said. “And second of all, we need our athletes to be able to run fast and be able to get times. That is what we’re really emphasizing to any of the places that come and want to bid is really looking at your course and make sure that you’re going to be able to give us a fast race for better opportunities for our athletes to qualify.”

New RFP Aspects

One change for the 2028 Trials is the housing element for athletes and the return of an A standard and B standard for competitors. A-Standard qualified athletes are provided cost-free housing and where B-Standard athletes are given ample options to book into similar housing blocks at their own cost. Mullet said depending on what a bidder provides for B standard athletes, it would be roughly a $250,000 savings.

“Not that if someone wants to pay for every single athlete to go and have the same experience — I think that’s awesome,” he said. “But it is also a costly thing to do. So I think returning to that (A/B standard) is positive for the LOCs.”

The USATF revenue from the event would come from the event rights fee ($150,000), national sponsors approved by the USOPC, USATF hospitality suites and tents, merchandising and licensing rights plus TV/Internet broadcast rights, entry fees and more. A bidder would be able to receive revenue from tickets/gate receipts, local sponsorships and local hospitality suites, event publications and souvenirs, concessions sales and other avenues including spectator parking.

The Para Marathon Trial could also be a new component for bidders wanting to organize both in their destination with USATF taking over the Para Track and Field operations earlier this year.

“We would love to combine them as best we can,” Mullet said. “We’re going to work through that as it is a little bit of a new process for us and for the new staff that come in from Para Track and Field. We would love to bring them together and we’re exploring whether that’s realistic in 2028 or if it is a better option to keep them apart or not.”

U.S. Olympic Trials-Marathon Previous Hosts

Note: The men and women have been at same site since 2012. There was no women’s marathon in the Olympics until 1984.
2024: Orlando, Florida
2020: Atlanta
2016: Los Angeles
2012: Houston
2008: Men, New York; Women, Boston
2004: Men, Birmingham, Alabama; Women, St. Louis
2000: Men, Pittsburgh; Women, Columbia, South Carolina
1996: Men, Charlotte; Women, Columbia, South Carolina
1992: Men, Columbus, Ohio; Women, Houston
1988: Men, Jersey City, New Jersey; Women, Pittsburgh
1984: Men, Buffalo, New York; Women, Olympia, Washington
1980: Buffalo, New York
1976: Eugene, Oregon
1972: Eugene, Oregon
1968: Alamosa, Colorado