The USA Ultrarunning Team Program

 

Definition of Program USA Ultrarunning is a program developed at the national level to identify, recruit, and develop national class ultrarunners.  Its primary focus is the road ultrarunning community and events.  The sole purpose of USA Ultrarunning is to develop a strong base of road ultrarunners from which to select our USA National Ultra Teams.  These National teams represent the United States at international competitions. A secondary goal of USA Ultrarunning is to foster a highly competitive environment for our National Ultramarathon Championships.  These championships will generally occur on an annual basis and will serve as qualifiers for selection to national teams.  Currently the only international championship event held on a regular basis is the IAU 100km World Challenge, held under the patronage of the IAAF. USA Ultrarunning will be the vehicle from which the men's and women's selection committees of USATF will choose the National Ultra Teams.  Teams will typically be selected for the 100km distance, but may also be selected for any other distance contested at the international level. Who Manages the Program USA Ultrarunning is administered by a coordinator whose responsibilities include: Communicating the program and its goals to all interested ultrarunners (qualifying standards, selection process, and National Championship details, etc.). Providing developmental material to qualified USA Ultrarunning members. Communicating the roster of USA Ultrarunning members to the National Ultra Team selection committee.  Delivering a qualification biography of each member to the selection committee. Acting as an advisory to the National Team Managers at world championship events. Notifying any athlete who delivers a notable performance at events that may not meet the qualifying standards, but a performance that certainly deserves merit.  Example: The Alberto Salazar scenario of winning Comrades.  Inform those atheles who post such notable performances of our events and process, with the hopes of recruiting them for inclusion to a national team. The USA Ultrarunning coordinator reports to the Mountain/Ultra/Trail Council of USATF. Athletes who meet the qualifying standards described below are encouraged to contact the USA Ultrarunning coordinator for more information.  The current USA Ultrarunning coordinator is: Kevin Setnes Ksetnes@aol.com 262-495-3474 (phone) 262-495-2236 (fax) W5297 Young Rd. Eagle, WI 53119 The Selection Process An individual desiring acceptance into the USA Ultrarunning Program will have to meet minimum qualification standards.  These standards may or may not be the same as those standards established by the national selection committees for consideration of selection to the National Ultra Teams. The interested runner will need  to register for USA Ultrarunning, officially indicating that he/she would like to be considered for selection to a National Ultra Team. Once a member of USA Ultrarunning,  the individual will be advised of the selection process to the National Ultra Team, informed of national competitions, and provided with material that will help prepare the ultrarunner for national and international competition. Once the USATF has received an invitation to participate in an international ultra competition, the appropriate USATF committee(s) will inform the USA Ultrarunning coordinator of the pertinent event details.  The coordinator will then inform the USA Ultrarunning members of the event, outlining dates, locales, costs, etc. The USA Ultrarunning coordinator will then work with the men's and women's selection committees, providing a comprehensive list of details outlining the performance credentials of the USA Ultrarunning members.  The selection committees will then use this information as a basis from which to select the national team. Qualification standards for inclusion into the USA Ultrarunning Program will be established jointly by the MUT council of USATF with input from the National Ultra Team selection committee and the USA Ultrarunning Coordinator. Suggested Qualifying Standards  To Qualify for USA Ultrrunning: Men Women 50 Mile 6:15 7:20 100 km 8:00 9:20 100 Mile 16:00 18:00 24 Hour 125 Miles 110 Miles To Qualify for USA Team Selection: Men Women 50 Mile 6:00 7:00 100 km 7:45 9:00 100 Mile 15:00 17:00 24 Hour 135 Miles 120 Miles Some Selection Criteria for National Ultra Team The selection process for the men's and women's team may vary from year to year depending on the specific process adopted by the National Ultra Team selection committee.  Selection criteria for the men's and women's teams need not be the same.  The following guidelines have be used in past years to select the 100 km National Ultra Team (generally in this order):   1. Place in the top three at the National Championship event for the distance selected.  This assumes there is a National Championship held for the event and that it is held significantly prior to the date of the World event.  In certain years, there may not be a USA National Championship at the same distance as the World Championship event. 2. Performances at the selected distance within a specified time frame.  The time frame is established by the National Ultra Team selection committee, the MUT Council of USATF, or their designees. 3. Performances at secondary distance (ie., 50 miles in lieu of 100K qualifying time for 100K Team selection).

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Last updated: 09/14/05
Web Author: Lorraine Gersitz