The Chase is on
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Earlier this month, USATF announced some of the fastest marathon qualifying standards in history for the 2028 Olympic Trials. Trials qualifying hopefuls in the men’s race will now have to run 2:16:00 or faster, a full two minutes faster than the 2024 trials standard and the largest drop in men’s standard in several Olympic cycles. For the women’s race, athletes must run 2:37:00 or faster, the same as the 2024 trials standard following a huge eight-minute drop in 2024.
Marathon standards from 2016-2028
The shift to faster qualifying times reflects the evolving performances of runners at all levels, including D3, which saw its fastest outdoor nationals qualifying marks in history in five distance events this year: the men’s and women’s steeplechase and the women’s 800m, 1500m, and 5k runs. As such, more and more D3 runners are finding opportunities to extend their running careers beyond college, with many moving up in distance to the marathon.
In 2024, 45 total D3 alums qualified for the U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials–27 men and 18 women. Many of these athletes now have their eyes set on 2028, but the road to qualifying is proving to be increasingly difficult.
“The two minute drop for men to 2:16:00 is a bit scary,” said former UChicago athlete Ryan Cutter. “If you asked me in 2023 when I ran 2:17:30, I would have thought, ‘it’s no problem and dropping 90 seconds will be a matter of time and more experience.’ Now, my most recent marathon burned me bad and I have a lot more respect for how many variables need to align to run these times during any given race.”
Cutter was a two-time cross country D3 All-American while at UChicago and went on to finish his career at Villanova, where he lowered all of his personal bests in distance events from the mile to the 10k. Having not quite reached his ceiling in competitive running, he continued to train after graduating from Villanova in 2023 and ran at CIM later that year. It was here that he hit his aforementioned 2024 Olympic Trials qualifying mark of 2:17:27, which scored him a trip to sunny Orlando for his first Olympic Trials competition.
Regardless of whether or not he hits his qualifying mark for 2028, Cutter hopes to see the Trials in a new location this year.
“I hope the trials will be held in Los Angeles wherever the marathon course will be staged for the Olympic Games,” he said. “They might have enough on their plate planning for the big event, but I think it would be cool to see the course in action for the Trials as well as the Games.”
Though the date and location for the 2028 Olympic Trials is yet to be determined, athletes are eligible to hit qualifying marks starting Sept. 1, 2025 until 60 days before the trials, which were held in February of the planned Olympic year for the past three Olympic cycles.
With now just two months until the window opens, athletes are eager to hit early marks. Last week, several D3 alums impressed all over the country, including Molly Colwell, formerly of Middlebury, who ran 2:41:50 at Grandma’s Marathon. Additionally, we saw Augsburg’s Mo Bati, who ran an impressive 1:03:51 for second place at the Garry Bjorkland Half Marathon.
Recent Wilmington grad Simon Heys will train for his first marathon Olympic Trials and is excited to get started with his marathon build ahead of the window opening.
“I think transitioning to the marathon, I’m going to have to learn to be uncomfortable a lot during this build,” he said. “The biggest adaptation I’m excited about would be long run workouts and fueling during workouts. While training for 5k & 10ks, I never get to go out and do these crazy workouts that equal 22-24 miles.”
When Heys saw the new standards, he felt motivated to rise to the challenge.
“My initial thought when I saw the new standards was just ‘alright. 2:16:00. Here we go,’” he said. “As the U.S. gets faster in marathon distance running, it makes sense to make it harder to qualify. If you have a goal and dream to work towards qualifying, you wouldn’t let the standard stop you whether it was 2:18 or 2:16.”
Thomas College alum Jarrod Ottman is also excited about the new standards. “I like it, I think it takes the field to another level of competitiveness,” he said.
Photo by Seawon Park
Ottman, who never qualified for a D3 national meet, moved up to the marathon after college and qualified for the 2024 Olympic Trials in his marathon debut when he ran a stunning 2:16:35 at CIM. He currently trains with Roots Running in Boulder, Colo.
“It’s exciting to be able to set another faster goal to work toward,” explained Ottman. “To get to run with my team every week moving toward a common goal. It is always a pleasure to be able to work toward a goal of this level.”
Amanda Mosborg, 2021 graduate of Carleton, shares a similar sentiment. “I've always loved the chase, even without a goal as symbolic or monumental as this one,” she said. “I am especially excited about this opportunity because I will be pursuing it alongside a few of my Railroad Athletics teammates.”
Mosborg is currently based in Saint Paul, Minn., where she trains with Collegeville Track Club and is coached by Hayden Cox of Railroad Athletics. She explained that she and Cox plan to keep her training similar to what it has been with some variation in speed work, lifting, and how she executes her training (e.g. more doubles). She does not believe she has to change anything major to target hitting the standard.
“I was psyched that the women's time didn't go down,” Mosborg said. “Keeping the time where it is will give even more women like me (i.e., sub-elites looking to hold their own at the elite level) a meaningful goal to shoot for over the next few years. I believe in a bigger field size for the Trials; I think it's good for the sport.”
Mosborg just recently ran a 10-minute PB and was the second amateur behind the pro field at the 2025 Boston Marathon. She plans to target the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on Nov. 9 for a shot at her qualifier.
CMS alum Sara Passani agrees that keeping the women’s standard the same creates more opportunities for athletes in the women’s race. “[I was] pleased they kept the woman's standard the same, especially in light of the discrepancy in field size between the women’s and men’s qualifying fields,” she said.
In 2024, the men's field was over 30% bigger than the women's field, with 228 men’s athletes qualified and only 173 women’s athletes. However, of those 228 men’s athletes, only 65 ran 2:16:00 or quicker, raising some questions about what a two-minute drop might mean for the distribution of men’s athletes qualifying.
Williams alum Bijan Mazaheri has concerns about the implications of the new men’s standard on certain athletes chasing qualifiers.
“I think the new, faster standard will concentrate talent into a small pool of already-packed races,” he said. “This will have a few consequences that are detrimental to the growth of American distance running.”
Of these consequences, Mazaheri cited loss of local competition, accessibility for semi-pros, and accessibility for new runners. He believes instead of participating in local races where many runners build community and draw inspiration, now athletes will be forced to travel outside of their communities to chase fast races. This concept is already observed at the D3 level when we see athletes opting out of their local invitationals to instead chase fast times at BU or Bryan Clay, a decision largely motivated by increasingly more competitive qualifying times in D3.
Mazaheri also raises the issue of accessibility. Travel to many notoriously fast races can be hard on semi-pros who train and race outside the hours of full-time jobs and have full work schedules. In the case of new runners, some races are now also lowering their entry standards, like Marathon Project Elite, which has a men’s standard of 2:20, a quick time for many rookies.
Mazaheri explained that his debut marathon was 2:22, and over time and with development, he lowered this time to 2:15. “How many new marathoners with the potential to run 2:15 or faster will be left out of elite fields as the status quo piles into the few available spots?” he asked. “The D1 runners will get in off of their college connections, run a fast time, and then use that time to get into future races. I think D3 runners will be left out and that’s a real shame.”
Regardless of what happens, the chase of the OTQ begins this fall and will be the guiding light for many runners. For some, this will get them into the marathon. For others, this will keep them in the marathon. The best part of this chase is seeing so many runners go for their dreams. The standards don’t care where you went to school, they just care that you commit to chase them.
If you’re out there and see these standards as too daunting, forget those thoughts and go for it. This is the time to try for something you never thought possible. Give yourself the chance to prove you can do it.
Trials veteran Ottman offers some sage advice. “The build does not have to be perfect and you don’t need to have crazy, flashy workouts,” he said. “Keep it consistent and focus on recovery. Keep it fun!”
A big thanks to Bombas for supporting D3 Glory Days this month. Last call to use code GLORYDAYS21 for 21% off your first order on Bombas.com and GLORYDAYS15 for 15% off for returning customers.* *One time use per customer, expires July 31st, 2025.