#Tour2018
2018 USA 1 Mile Road Championships
The Grand Blue Mile is the Midwest’s premier community street run for all ages and abilities, and with 7 heats and 3,500-plus finishers, the event is the third largest U.S. road Mile. Held annually in Des Moines, Iowa, since 2010, the Grand Blue Mile has hosted more than 30,000 participants from 26 states, 6 countries and 4 continents. Among those participants: Olympic medalists, American record holders, national champions and many of the world’s finest track & field athletes.
The 9th edition opens the Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour 2018 and features $30,000 in prize money overall, and the long U-shaped road course (updated for 2018), run in downtown Des Moines, is USATF-certified. The event has also been recognized as one of America’s top Mile races by Shape Magazine and fe
atured across track & field media.
The Grand Blue Mile saw the return of the prestigious USA 1 Mile Championships in 2017 and 2018 after previously hosting the national championships in 2013-14. The 2018 USA Championship prize money totals $25,000 and goes 10-deep ($5000 national champion, $2500 national runner-up, $1500, $1250, $1000 $500, $300, $200, $150 and $100) plus a $2500 bonus for establishing a new course record (see below).
EVENT RECORDS
3:59.96 Clayton Murphy (USA / OH), 2017
4:32.62 Heather Kampf (USA / MN), 2014
2018 Grand Blue Mile Champions / USA Road Champions
Riley Masters (USA / CO), 4:03.12
Emily Lipari (USA / WA), 4:32.87
Elite athlete contact, Blake Boldon, Drake Relays Director: blake.boldon@drake.edu
Grand prix tour with 6 stops awarded more than $125,000 plus $10,000 #Tour2018 GP purse; Eric Avila & Shannon Osika earn Tour Performance-of-the-Year bonus; fifth edition also featured Running Warehouse’s “Pick-the-Winner” online contest at every stop
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – (September 30,...
Read More comments
5th Tour edition features 6 stops offering a guaranteed Tour prize purse of $135,000; Running Warehouse’s fan engagement online contest at each Tour event
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Bring Back the Mile, the national campaign to elevate & celebrate the iconic distance, has announced that the Ed...
Read More comments
9th event edition awards $25,000 national championship purse; first stop on the BBTM Grand Prix #Tour2018
From Drake Relays
DES MOINES, Iowa – In down-to-the-wire exciting finishes, Riley Masters and Emily Lipari bested their respective fields to win the 9th Grand Blue Mile, the USATF 1 Mile...
Read More comments
Iowa native & Northern Iowa assistant coach eyes top finish at Grand Blue Mile: USA 1 Mile Road Championship & BBTM Grand Prix #Tour2018 opener; shares post-collegiate experiences & support system
By David Monico, Bring Back the Mile
The USATF 1 Mile Road Championship returns to Des Moines...
Read More comments
2017 USA Paralympic Athlete of the Year and 2016 Paralympic Champion at 800m and 1500m to debut in a USA Championship at the Grand Blue Mile; first sub-4 Miler with autism
By David Monico, Bring Back the Mile
The USATF 1 Mile Road Championship returns to Des Moines for the second consecutive...
Read More comments
Event again hosts USA 1 Mile Road Championships as well as BBTM Grand Prix #Tour2018 opener; Drake Relays event director Blake Boldon discusses 2018 fields, shares what's new for this year and more!
By Bring Back the Mile
The USATF 1 Mile Road Championship returns to Des Moines for the second...
Read More comments
Katie Mackey to defend women’s national title; $25,000 guaranteed national championship purse with $5000 for each national champion; also the Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix #Tour2018 season opener
From Grand Blue Mile
DES MOINES, Iowa - Grand Blue Mile race officials have announced the fields...
Read More comments
5th Tour edition with 5 stops offers total Tour prize purse of more than $110,000; Grand Blue Mile opens 2018 racing season on Tuesday, April 24 in Des Moines; Running Warehouse’s fan engagement online contest again tied to each Tour event
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Bring Back the Mile, the...
Read More comments
Record prize money awarded exceeds $500,000, Blankenship & Lipari win BBTM Grand Prix Tour titles, one more U.S. HSer sub-4, the brothers Ingebrigtsen make history, greatest women’s Mile ever and more highlight year
By Ryan Lamppa, Bring Back the Mile
Since the Bring Back the Mile launch in...
Read More comments
Grand prix tour with 5 stops awarded more than $100,000 plus $10,000 #Tour2017 GP purse; Clayton Murphy & Emily Lipari earn Tour Performance-of-the-Year bonus; Running Warehouse’s “Pick-the-Winner” online contest at every stop for fourth edition
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – At the Bring Back the...
Read More comments
2016 Olympic medalist Clayton Murphy also crushes course record with sub-4, earns $2500 bonus; first stop on the Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix #Tour2017
By Scott Bush for USATF
DES MOINES - Close finishes defined the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships Tuesday evening in Des Moines, Iowa, as...
Read More comments
USA 1 Mile Road Championships returns to Des Moines, IA under the leadership of new Franklin P. Johnson Drake Relays Director Blake Boldon; $30,000 overall prize purse welcomes the country’s best Milers to the BBTM Grand Prix #Tour2017 opener
By Bring Back the Mile
One of only four sub-4...
Read More comments
Event also kicks off the Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour 2017 in Des Moines; $25,000 national championship purse with $5000 for each national champion
DES MOINES - Grand Blue Mile race officials have announced the elite fields for the 2017 USA 1 Mile Road Championships set for Tuesday,...
Read More comments
4th Tour edition includes 5 stops; total Tour prize purse exceeds $110,000; Grand Blue Mile opens 2017 season on Tuesday, April 25 in Des Moines; Running Warehouse’s fan engagement contest also tied to each Tour event
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Bring Back the Mile, the national campaign to elevate...
Read More comments
Annual April event, part of historic Drake Relays, offers $25,000 national championship prize purse with $5000 for USA champion
From Drake Relays
DES MOINES, Iowa – Grand Blue Mile (GBM) officials from Wellmark and the Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee announced the USA Track & Field 1 Mile...
Read More comments
Noelle wins men's race; pair lead more than 3,500 runners through downtown course
From Drake Relays
DES MOINES, Iowa – Heather Kampf successfully defended her Grand Blue Mile title for the second straight year on Tuesday evening, winning the women's Mile invitational race in 4 minutes, 37.52...
Read More comments
Top American middle-distance runners on display in Des Moines for $30,000 prize purse with $5000 for each race champion
From Drake Relays
Grand Blue Mile race officials announced a prestigious field of invitational championship participants in addition to the expected 3,500 recreational and...
Read More comments
Matthew Centrowitz and Heather Kampf picked up $5000 for their road Mile wins, event record 5,000 participants at 6th edition event.
By LetsRun.com
DES MOINES, Iowa - (April 21, 2015) - The Drake Relays kicked off in grand style with the Grand Blue Mile Tuesday night in Des Moines. Matthew...
Read More comments
Defending champions Manzano, Kampf to face formidable field including Lagat, Centrowitz, Leer, McNamara, Grunewald, Sifuentes and more; $30,000 overall prize purse for 6th edition
By Drake Athletics
Grand Blue Mile race officials today unveiled a prestigious field of invitational championship...
Read More comments
By Katie Branham, USATF
INDIANAPOLIS – Grand Blue Mile (GBM) and USA Track & Field (USATF) officials today announced a two-year agreement that will bring the USA Men’s & Women’s 1 Mile Road Championships to Des Moines, Iowa, in 2013 and 2014 as part of the USA Running Circuit. The championships...
Read More comments
Peter van der Westhuizen takes first GBM crown
Courtesy: Drake Athletics
DES MOINES, Iowa - 2011 Pan Am Games gold medalist Sara Hall (far right) became the first two-time winner in the three-year history of the Grand Blue Mile on Tuesday evening, outkicking Heather Kampf to repeat as...
Read More commentsReturn the Mile to prominence on the American & worldwide sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a movement.
ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.
CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.
NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance, to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.
Become a Mile Maniac member or a BBTM sponsor today! Join us, and go Mile!