Monday's New Haven 20-K is not only the USA 20-K championships for men and women, but a unique one-day opportunity for American men to qualify for the USA Men's Marathon Championships at the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 1.
Any American man finishing the race in 61:30 or better will receive a comp entry to the ING NYCM and the USA Men's Marathon Championship, provided they are USATF members. This one day window was added jointly by the New York Road Runners and USATF to allow primarily younger athletes, who had not yet run half or full marathons in the previously-announced qualifying period, to qualify for the championship.
Under the original qualifying program, athletes needed to run 2:24:00 for a full marathon or 1:05:00 for a half-marathon between January 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009 (running 2:19 or better also guaranteed travel and lodging).
Both NYRR Professional Athletes Manager Sam Grotewold and I will be in New Haven on Monday to congratulate any new qualifiers.
David Monti, Professional Athletes Consultant
New York Road Runners