Credit for Records:
(a) No record shall be acceptable unless it is made in a bona fide scratch running competition, or a bona fide handicap or scratch competition in a field event, open to two or more clubs, schools, colleges, or other organizations, which has been fixed and advertised before the day of competition, and which is included in the printed program together with the names of the entrants for the events. A record may be accepted in a handicap race, provided the performance is set in a race in which (1) all competitors start from the same line, (2) no one has started before the competitor claiming the record, and (3) the race is timed in accordance with Rule 165.4. At least three competitors, and in relays at least two teams, shall be bona fide and have participated in the event in which the record purportedly was established. In field events, a handicap competition may be combined with the scratch competition. In Men’s and Women’s Track and Field, Long Distance Running, Race Walking and Masters Track and Field, no record shall be acceptable unless it was made in an event that had been sanctioned by USATF, a member organization of USATF or another member Federation of IAAF by competitors eligible to compete under IAAF Rules.
(b) For track events over 10,000 meters and road events up to and including the Marathon, multiple events may be contested simultaneously. The athlete must complete the distance entered in order for any intermediate time to be considered as a record.
(c) For races longer than the Marathon, an athlete may compete at a distance shorter than the stated race distance but longer than the Marathon distance. The athlete shall be eligible for records of any standard distance that is completed, even if the stated race distance is not completed. Similarly, a race director may offer several ultramarathon options within the same race
with each being considered a bona fide scratch competition.
NOTE: In meets within allied members of USATF or other recognized organizations, marks made in competition open to two or more athletic organizations may be considered for record listing.
http://www.usatf.org/about/rules/2012/2012rules.pdf