Runners times invalidated due to lack sanctioning

Spencer Friske won the Baystate Marathon on October 18 with a time of 2:15:04, bettering the 2:16 time he needed to qualify for his second Olympic Marathon Trials. However, it now appears that his time won’t count toward the Trials due to the event not being USATF-sanctioned.

Although the course for the Baystate Marathon was USATF-certified, the event’s lack of sanctioning will likely mean that both Friske and women’s winner Caitlin McGinley will have to try again to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials. McGinley had thought she qualified with her 2:36:08, narrowly beating the women’s standard of 2:37.

USATF Sanctioning Requirements

According to USATF’s database, the Baystate Marathon had a sanction from 2017 to 2020 but not since then. The organization’s spokesperson, Jay Holder, stated that an event must be sanctioned by USATF or another World Athletics member federation to count toward a qualifying time.

The fee for sanctioning a race of Baystate’s size would be roughly $2,000, or less than $1 per finisher.

Previous Instances of Sanctioning Issues

In the past, USATF has reached out to races that weren’t sanctioned when it appeared likely they might have Olympic Marathon Trials qualifiers. For instance, USATF informed the Marine Corps Marathon before the 2025 race that they did not have a sanction, and Tessa Barrett’s qualifying time at that race did not count.

Barrett later had to attempt another qualifier and successfully ran the time she needed at the California International Marathon. The Marine Corps Marathon has since applied for and received a sanction for its 2026 race.

Impact on Runners

Friske and McGinley declined interview requests, except to say they were thankful to the Baystate Marathon for “putting on a great race.” On race day, Friske told the Lowell Sun he was aiming for the Trials time and knew he was close.

McGinley wrote on her Strava after the race, “For years, this was a dream I was almost too afraid to let myself envision. Today, I finally got to live it.” However, she has since learned that her time may not count due to the sanctioning issue.

Masters legend Gene Dykes also experienced a similar issue when he ran what appeared to be an age-group world record at the Jacksonville Marathon in 2019, but the time did not count as a record due to the event not being sanctioned.

USATF is working to increase awareness of its sanctioning requirements. The Baystate Marathon’s race director, Glenn Stewart, took responsibility for the issue, stating that it was his duty to ensure the race was eligible for use as an Olympic Trials qualifier.