The Baystate Marathon produced two performances fast enough for the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. But because the Lowell, Massachusetts, race wasn’t sanctioned by USA Track & Field (USATF), Spencer Friske and Caitlin McGinley may have to qualify again.
Fast enough, but not eligible
Friske, 32, won the October 18 race in 2:15:04, more than five minutes ahead of the field and under the men’s 2:16 qualifying standard. McGinley, 29, won the women’s race in 2:36:08, faster than the 2:37 standard. Both initially appeared to have secured a place in the 2028 Trials in St. Louis.
The course was USATF-certified, but certification alone doesn’t meet the Trials’ requirements. USATF says a qualifying race must also be sanctioned by the organization or another World Athletics member federation. Its sanctioned-event database lists Baystate as sanctioned from 2017 through 2020, but not afterward.
Friske and McGinley separately declined interview requests from Runner’s World the day after the race, saying only that they were thankful to Baystate for “putting on a great race.” Before learning about the sanction issue, McGinley wrote on Strava: “For years, this was a dream I was almost too afraid to let myself envision. Today, I finally got to live it.”
McGinley had narrowly missed the standard at Baystate the previous year, running 2:37:12, 12 seconds too slow. That 2025 race also lacked a sanction. Friske told the Lowell Sun on race day that he’d targeted the Trials standard and knew he was close. “At the half, I was on it, but thought I may have come out too fast,” he said. “I just kind of hung tough and got it done.”
USATF says the rule needs wider attention
USATF spokesperson Jay Holder said the 2028 Trials standards require races to be sanctioned, a process he said signals adherence to competition rules, safety requirements and event-management practices. “We have made best efforts to communicate this to race directors and Trials hopefuls,” Holder said in a statement to Runner’s World. “However, we need to increase these efforts and will be doing so in the coming days as we want to ensure everyone is aware. We do not want to see people’s hard work and accomplishments end in disappointment.”
Holder said USATF has previously contacted races when it appeared likely that Trials hopefuls might compete there. Before the 2025 Marine Corps Marathon, the organization told race officials the event didn’t have a sanction; none was filed. Tessa Barrett ran 2:34:08 there, but the time didn’t count. She later qualified at the California International Marathon. Marine Corps received a sanction for its October 25, 2026, race.
“Our goal is to be consistent across the board and make sure that the rules are clear, so that everyone can have the same expectations,” Holder said. USATF’s qualification rules list event sanctioning as one of the requirements.
Baystate race director Glenn Stewart told Runner’s World he couldn’t yet comment on the 2026 event. He wrote: “I guess the only thing I’ll say for now is it was my responsibility to make sure the race is eligible for use as an OTQ, or possible world and national records. That responsibility falls on me and me alone.”
For a race the size of Baystate, which had 2,385 marathon and half-marathon finishers in 2026, a sanction would cost roughly $2,000, or less than a dollar per finisher, depending on whether the event used USATF insurance or its own. The sanction requirement has affected other runners, too: Gene Dykes’s 2:54:23 at the 2019 Jacksonville Marathon, then a 20-second improvement on the age-group world record for men aged 70, wasn’t recognized because the race lacked a sanction.
Baystate remains a popular choice for runners seeking a Boston Marathon qualifying time, which requires a certified course but not a race sanction. The distinction matters: certification establishes the course measurement, while a sanction is a separate condition for Trials qualification. For runners chasing the 2028 standard, checking both before race day may determine whether a fast time counts.
