Runners competing in the 2024 USATF Masters LDR 5 KM Championships on Saturday, February 24, 2024, as part of the Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend, hosted by Atlanta Track Club, should be aware of the following points of emphasis. Competitors who fail to comply with these and other applicable USATF Rules of Competition risk possible disqualification. There will be no Technical Meeting. The Technical Instructions are available on the event website at: 2024 USATF Masters 5 km Championships | USA Track & Field. It is advisable to read them well ahead of time. All Masters Championship athletes, coaches and other interested parties should read these instructions carefully. Questions should be directed to the Championship Referee, Andy Carr: acarr@atlantatrackclub.org.
Illegal Assistance. Anyone found to have received illegal assistance is subject to disqualification. “Assistance” is the conveying of advice, information or direct help to an athlete by any means, including a technical device. It also includes pacing in running or walking events by persons not participating in the event, by competitors lapped or about to be lapped, or by any kind of technical device. Verbal or other communication, without the use of any technical device, from an individual not on the course shall not be considered assistance. The course is defined as the roadway and bike path between their edges and curbs. Pacesetting, by a person entered in an event as an officially designated pacesetter, is permissible. There are no designated pacesetters for this event. All athletes should compete honestly with bona fide effort in all Masters LDR Championship events. To that end, pacing by an athlete of the opposite gender in mixed gender championship race could be considered ‘illegal assistance’ and dealt with accordingly by the Referee. We discourage all instances of a ‘faster’ spouse pacing a ‘slower’ partner in Masters LDR mixed gender championship events. The ‘faster’ spouse is obviously not competing honestly with bona fide effort.
Packet Pick-up. Packet pickup will be on Friday, February 23, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET at the Home Depot Backyard, 1 Backyard Way, Atlanta GA 30313. Packets may also be picked up on race day, Saturday, February 24, 2024, from 6:00 a.m. until 6:45 a.m. ET at the USATF Masters Tent in the Home Depot Backyard. We strongly discourage runners from waiting until Saturday morning to pick up their bib numbers. It is very hectic right before the race.
Awards Ceremony. There is a one-hour protest period once results have been posted on site. The USATF Master 5 KM Championship Awards’ Ceremony will be held in the Masters Tent in the Home Depot Backyard as soon as the one-hour protest period has expired. There will be post-race refreshments outside the tent.
Club teams. All clubs must be registered with USATF for 2024. Only teams consisting of duly accredited representatives of a member club shall be eligible to score as a team. The formation of club teams must meet all of the parameters found in Regulations 4 and 6 in the 2024 USATF Governance Handbook found at: https://www.usatf.org/governance/bylaws-regulations. USATF Association, Regional, or National “all-star” teams are not eligible to compete in Masters Long Distance Running Team competition. According to USATF Competition Rule 341.8, “Only one athlete per team (for example, Club M50+ team) who is a non-resident member of an Association is eligible to compete for a team in that Association”. Consult: Rule Books | USA Track & Field (usatf.org)
Club affiliation. Athletes must be bona fide members of a 2024 USATF club in order to represent a club and score team points. All athletes entering as part of a club must be affiliated with that club as part of their USATF online membership profile. Per USATF Competition Rule 341.12, absolutely no changes will be allowed to runner team affiliation after the close of online registration. An athlete can view their current affiliation by logging into their USATF Connect account by using the ‘CURRENT MEMBER LOGIN’ at: https://www.usatf.org/home/top-utility-nav-content/membership-1. Note that this request must be made by the athlete at least one week prior to the date of the race and finalized prior to the close of online registration. This is the athlete’s responsibility. Rule 341.12 reads as follows: “In Masters Long Distance Running including Masters Cross Country, an athlete may not change affiliation prior to the Championships or be eligible to represent or score points for the club to which he/she seeks to change affiliation after the closing of online entries for Masters LDR and Master Cross Country Championships. If the athlete does not desire to compete for their original club, if any, then they may compete unattached, representing no club. Changing club affiliation prior to Master Championship online entry deadlines is the responsibility of the athlete. For the 90-day rule on changing your club affiliation see the USATF Governance Manual Regulation 4.C.2 at: https://www.usatf.org/governance/bylaws-regulations. Also, contact your local Association’s Membership Chair for help.
Age Verification. Unless your date of birth/age has already been verified according to your USATF online membership profile, all entries must be accompanied by a copy of a legal document (passport or birth certificate) in order to verify date of birth and citizenship. If you have a valid passport at the time of entry, please use a copy of the information page of your passport as verification of citizenship and birth date. These copies will not be returned. We cannot verify ages as part of the packet pick-up process for this event. Runners whose ages are incorrect at the time of the race are subject to possible protest and subsequent event disqualification. To upload a copy of your passport or birth certificate, you will need to log into your USATF Connect account and upload the copy under the “Athlete Verifications” tab. If you need help with this process, there is a step by step video to assist you with the uploading process at: https://vimeopro.com/user44435707/usatf-connect-member-tutorials/video/403329154.
Drug Testing. All competitors entered in the USATF Masters 5 KM Championships are eligible for “in-competition” drug testing. Any questions regarding prescriptions or other over-the-counter medication should be directed to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) at 1-888-233-0393. If the 2024 USA Masters 5 KM Championship is selected for drug testing, prize money checks will be mailed following our receipt of the drug testing results. The race has no control over when the results of the drug tests are released, and USATF cannot release the prize money until we have official results as it can directly affect the distribution amounts.
Championship medals will be awarded to the top 3 places in each 5-year individual division for both Men and Women (40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, etc.), the top 3 Age Graded Men and Women and the top 3 Overall Men and Women. Championship team medals will be awarded to the members of teams in the top 3 places in each 10-year Team Division for both Men and Women. All Masters athletes must be citizens of the United States and eligible to represent the United States in international competition to be eligible for team scoring and for USATF medals and prize money. Prize money will be awarded to member USATF Masters runners who have appropriately entered the Championship competition. Non-citizens who are USATF members are welcome to compete but may not score for a team nor win USATF medals and prize money. Non-citizens can qualify for Elite Performance Medals.
Elite Performance Medals will be given to all competitors achieving at least 80% age graded, in accordance with the USATF tables. You can find a link to a calculator consistent with the 2020 tables here. Gold medals will be given to 90% or better; Silver for 85-89.99%; Bronze for 80-84.99%.