The Americans are coming in hot on the track.
On Dec. 5, the United States Track and Field governing body announced their inaugural 17-meet tour series — and the Penn Relay Carnival was named as one of the stops.
The competition tour kicks off The TEN, a 10K race in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., on March 28, 2026. After competing in the South for most of April, the best track and field competitors in the U.S. will come to Philadelphia for Penn Relays.
"The Penn Relays is proud to be part of the USATF Tour as well as the World Athletics Continental Tour. Franklin Field provides an ideal stage for the world’s best track & field athletes to showcase their talent. The 130th running of the Penn Relay is sure to be an exciting event for both the athletes and spectators.” Director of the Penn Relays and head coach of Penn track and field Steve Dolan said in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Being part of the tour does not change how Penn Relays is managed. In the announcement, USATF specified that the tour is a “series of independently owned and operated track and field meets in the United States that meet the criteria for a bronze, silver or gold label from World Athletics.”
Penn Relays already hosts professional competitions, but adding this World Athletics label to the meet allows professional athletes’ performances at Penn Relays to be graded and assigned a World Athletics performance point value.
The World Athletics performance point value system functions to determine the best athletes in a particular discipline while simultaneously acting as a qualifier for some events at the World Athletics Championships and Olympics.
At the end of the 17-meet season, USATF will award $50,000 each to the male and female athlete with the highest number of World Athletics performance points in their three highest-scoring competitions. USATF will also financially support professional athletes competing in the tour series by paying for insurance, travel, and additional costs that may arise.
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The USATF tour season will run alongside other high-profile competitions like the Athlos league, the Wanda Diamond League, and the Enhanced Games. Due to USATF’s drug testing policy, Enhanced Games contenders will not be able to compete on the USATF tour series.
With the inclusion of Penn Relays on the tour’s schedule, both the University and Philadelphia continue to be a part of the growth of track and field. Penn Relays is the only East Coast meet offered on the USATF tour series.
This announcement follows the unsuccessful run of professional track and field meet series Grand Slam Track, which failed to pay many of its competitors.
Grand Slam hosted its third meet of the 2025 season at Franklin Field, sparking controversy due to cut long distance competitions and a shortened racing period.
