The relay crossed the United States from New York City to Los Angeles, with 3,636 torchbearers running with the torch along a 9,375-mile (15,088 km) route.

The aluminum torch, designed with a brass finish and leather handle that gave it an antique look, was 56.5 centimeters (22.2 in) long and weighed 1,000 grams (35 oz).

Under this program, individuals and organizations could sponsor a kilometer of the relay, which would give them the right to carry the torch along that segment of the route or to choose others who would be allowed to do so.

[3] Peter Ueberroth, chair of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC), later wrote that he first conceived of the idea of running the torch across the length of the country, which had not been done before.

[4]: 188–191 Shortly after AT&T became a sponsor of the Olympic Games in 1982, organizers tasked the company's Long Lines Division with handling the logistics of the relay event.

[3] Additional sponsors included Burson-Marsteller, the PR agency of AT&T, which helped to organize the relay provided the majority of the staffing for the events;[3][6] Levi Strauss & Co., which provided the runner uniforms; Converse, which supplied the shoes; and General Motors, which designed custom GMC and Buick vehicles to follow and support the runners, specially designed to travel at slow speeds for long periods of time.

[4]: 191–193 Plans for the relay and a preliminary route were first publicly announced on July 28, 1983, one year before the Games' opening ceremony, in two simultaneous press conferences in New York City and Los Angeles.

[5] However, given the later start date, organizers realized that this route, covering over 16,000 miles (26,000 km), would require runners to carry the torch 24 hours a day and would be logistically impractical.

[10] Political consultant Wally McGuire was tasked with designing a more realistic route, which was shortened to 9,375 miles (15,088 km) through 33 states and the District of Columbia.

[3] On February 1, Kimon Koulouris, the Greek minister of sports, announced that the government would not allow the flame to be used for commercial purposes, jeopardizing the relay plans.

The mayor of Olympia, Spyros Foteinos, added that the town also would not agree to participate in the event if it was commercialized,[11] saying that the American delegation would have to light the flame themselves.

[13] In order to keep Greek participation in the relay to a minimum, and to avoid the possibility of protests along the route there, organizers considered transmitting the flame to New York in the form of a laser beam by satellite, as had been done in 1976 between Athens and Montreal.

[3] Despite the compromise that had been worked out between Greek and American officials, on April 25, eight days before the planned lighting ceremony at Olympia, the Hellenic Athletics Federation told its members not to participate in the relay to Athens in protest.

[4]: 240–242  Reportedly, American organizers also threatened not to allow Greek athletes to walk in the Parade of Nations first at the opening ceremony, as is traditional.

[24][25][26] Muhammad Ali ran with the torch in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky,[27] while another Olympic gold medalist from the state, Tamara McKinney, started the next day's leg in Lexington.

[36] The border between Farwell, Texas, and Texico, New Mexico, was officially designated as the halfway point of the cross-country route, as it was reached on June 17, the 41st day of the 82-day relay.

Governor Richard Lamm received the flame on the mile-high step of the Colorado State Capitol and ran with it for a kilometer before passing it to Denver mayor Federico Peña, who carried it down the 16th Street Mall – both politicians dressed in the official runner's uniform.

[7] Proceeding southward to Portland, the torch followed the Willamette Valley to Eugene, then crossed the Cascade Mountains to Klamath Falls.

The torch briefly left California to pass through Reno, Nevada, where a local resident was killed in a vehicular accident when traffic was halted for the relay, as well as the state capital of Carson City.

[47] The Democratic candidates nominated at the convention, Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro, had watched the torch pass by while staying in South Lake Tahoe a few days earlier.

[48] Mayor Lionel Wilson carried the torch through Oakland,[49] while Congressman Ed Zschau brought it onto the Stanford University campus.

[52] One of the only cities to be added to the relay route after it was initially announced, while many were removed due to logistical constraints and a lack of donations, was San Diego, where local residents raised over $550,000 for the Youth Legacy Kilometer program.

Gina Hemphill, who had been one of the first torchbearers in New York, carried the torch into the stadium and circled the track before delivering it to Rafer Johnson, who lit the cauldron.

The event honored Thorpe, whose 1912 Olympic medals, stripped over an amateurism controversy, had officially been reinstated in January 1983 thirty years after his death.

[57] Connecticut: Greenwich, Stamford, Westport, Bridgeport, West Haven (University of New Haven)[59] Rhode Island: Westerly, Narragansett, South Kingstown, North Kingstown, East Greenwich, Warwick, Providence, Pawtucket[61] Massachusetts: North Attleboro Connecticut: Storrs (University of Connecticut)[59] New York: Brewster, Carmel, Mahopac, Baldwin Place, Shrub Oak, Mohegan Lake, Peekskill, West Point (United States Military Academy)[64] New Jersey: Mahwah, Lincoln Park, Towaco, Montville, Boonton, Parsippany, Morris Plains, Morristown,[66] Bernardsville, Bedminster, Bridgewater Township, Somerville, Hillsborough Township, Montgomery Township, Princeton, Lawrence Township (Rider College)[67][68] Pennsylvania: Morrisville,[20] Philadelphia (Independence Hall, Liberty Bell,[69] Philadelphia Museum of Art),[70] Yeadon, Chester,[71] Marcus Hook[69] Delaware: Wilmington (Rodney Square),[72] Elsmere,[71] Newark (University of Delaware)[69] Maryland: Havre de Grace,[73] Aberdeen, Edgewood (Aberdeen Proving Ground)[74] Washington, D.C. (White House, United States Capitol, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial)[77][22] Virginia: Arlington (Arlington National Cemetery), Fairfax[77] West Virginia: Romney[78] Maryland: U.S. Route 50 West Virginia: U.S. Route 50, Clarksburg[79] Pennsylvania: Washington[80] Ohio: Youngstown,[83] Canfield,[84] Berlin Lake[85] Michigan: Monroe[88] Indiana: Michigan City, Gary (Fifth Avenue and Burr Street)[99] Illinois: Chicago (Daley Plaza), Harvey, South Holland, Calumet City[23][101] Indiana: Hammond, Highland, Schererville, St. John, Lake Village[100] Kentucky: Louisville (Clark Memorial Bridge, Kentucky Center for the Arts), Shelbyville,[110][111] Frankfort (Kentucky Governor's Mansion),[112] Versailles, Lexington (Keeneland Race Course)[113] Tennessee: Cumberland Gap, La Follette, Knoxville (University of Tennessee),[29][114] Gatlinburg (Sugarlands Visitor Center)[115] North Carolina: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee, Bryson City, Andrews, Murphy[116] Georgia: Blairsville[117] Alabama: Heflin, Oxford, Lincoln, Pell City, Leeds[121] Mississippi: Fulton,[124] Tupelo (U.S. Route 78 at Auburn Road)[30] Tennessee: Memphis (Beale Street) Arkansas: West Memphis, Jericho, Turrell (Turrell High School)[30] Missouri: Steele, Portageville, Sikeston[30] Kansas: Kansas City, Shawnee,[130] Lawrence[131][132] Oklahoma: Dewey, Bartlesville,[133] Tulsa, Jenks,[134] Sapulpa[135][34] Texas: Sherwood Shores, Whitesboro, Collinsville, Tioga,[139] Pilot Point, Aubrey, Cross Roads, Frisco,[140] Dallas,[141] Grand Prairie[142] New Mexico: Texico, Clovis,[145] Melrose, Fort Sumner[37] Colorado: Antonito[150][39] Utah: Jensen,[155] Vernal (Uintah High School)[154] Idaho: Burley, Murtaugh[160] Oregon: Ontario, Farewell Bend State Recreation Area[164] Washington: Kennewick, Pasco, Eltopia, Mesa[167] Oregon: Rainier, St. Helens,[173] Portland, Milwaukie, Gladstone, Oregon City (Clackamette Park)[174] California: Tulelake,[42] Newell, Adin[43] Nevada: Reno, Carson City, Lake Tahoe–Nevada State Park (Spooner Lake Dam)[45] California: South Lake Tahoe, Jackson[46][180] The 1984 torch relay was the first to last longer than two months, the first to be substantially funded by corporate sponsorships, and the first to visit all the major cities of the host country rather than traveling directly to the host city.

[200][201] The relay, and the gathering of millions of people who watched as it was carried through their communities, was widely regarded as bolstering national pride in the United States.

[202] In his nomination speech at the 1984 Republican National Convention, President Ronald Reagan hailed the relay as a patriotic triumph and argued that it demonstrated that his administration was succeeding in its efforts to revitalize America.