For the first time in what feels like forever, we don’t have a major championship to end the track & field calendar this year. In 2024 we had the Olympics, in 2025 the World Championships, and this year…nothing (more on that below).
2026 may be referred to as an off-year, but that doesn't mean nothing is going on. An off-year allows athletes to structure their calendars differently, chase different goals and moments, and, of course, that means fans could be in for some epic battles, surprising results, and record-breaking times.
Your favorite track athlete might dip their toe into the world of road racing, they might focus their season around running extremely fast at a singular moment, or they might just chill. The unpredictability is what turns an off-year for athletes into an on-year for fans.
Case-in-point: American Molly Seidel, an Olympic marathoner who took the bronze medal at Tokyo 2020, started her “off-year” by taking the outright victory and breaking the women’s course record at the Bandera 50K. She will also race next month’s Black Canyon 100K, where she’ll go for a Golden Ticket entry into Western States — arguably the most important ultramarathon in the world.
There's still plenty going on in the racing world this year, so I’m here to give a bit of guidance to some moments I’ll be tuning into in 2026.
Disclaimer: Marathons are awesome, and you should tune into all the World Majors + Houston, Valencia, and CIM, but you won’t see any marathons on the list below.
World XC Champs: January 10th, Tallahassee, FL.
This will have happened by the time this email arrives, but it’s a great place to start because we still have world championships this year, just not on the outdoor track.
The Millrose Games: February 1st, NYC.
THE best indoor meet in the world. Period.
US Indoors: February 28th - March 1st, Staten Island (Ocean Breeze).
World Indoor Champs are never as big as the Outdoor Championships, but with a chance to represent your country on the line, you can be sure a lot of Americans will target this race.
World Indoor Champs: March 20th - 22nd, Poland.
Indoor racing is electric and you can bet a lot of people have this circled as a chance to bring home a medal this year.
Pre Classic / Monaco Diamond League: July 3rd - 4th, Eugene / July 10th-ish (TBD).
I’m hedging here, but the Pre Classic has become one of the most exciting “regular season” (which doesn’t exist in track, but still) outdoor track meets every year. Similarly, Monaco is where everyone goes to run fast. Are you a fan of seeing some new World Records? Us too. These will be the moments to watch history go down.
Bandit Grand Prix: May 30th, NYC.
Selfish plug. Pull up. Public registration opens VERY soon.
US Outdoors: TBD.
Winning a US title is still a big deal with no Team USA on the line, so this will be fun when they announce where and when it’s going down
“World Athletics Ultimate Championship”: September 11th - 13th, Budapest, Hungary.
The new one on the block, this is World Athletics’ attempt at putting together an event to replace the Olympics / World Championships to end the season. Who knows how it’ll come to life. The mystery IS the fun.
World Road Running Championships: September 19th - 20th, Copenhagen.
Again, a unique opportunity to represent your country and try out road racing for a ton of athletes this year. Another fun one to tune into.
Honorable Mention: Athlos.
We’ve been told the event is expanding this year, so keep an eye on this all women’s pro meet as it looks to expand from NYC into a full series of events.. We’re betting the “off-year” will attract more talent… a gift for the race spectator.
