Inaugural Bring Back the Mile Tour 2013 Ends with a Flourish
Highlights of national promotional tour of iconic distance include thrilling races and numerous meet, U.S. Junior, NCAA, course and State records; $120,000 awarded to top Milers
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The inaugural Bring Back the Mile Tour 2013, showcasing 14 events nationwide, produced exciting Mile racing throughout the year including the Tour finale at the Minnesota Mile on Sunday, September 8 where Americans Ben Blankenship and Gabriele Anderson shattered course records, clocking 3 minutes, 52.7 seconds and 4:21.3, respectively, and running the fastest Miles ever in Minnesota. Bring Back the Mile (BBTM), launched in January 2012, is a national campaign to elevate and celebrate the iconic distance.
“The first Bring Back the Mile Tour exceeded our expectations, with numerous thrilling Tour event finishes and record or near record number of participants for virtually every Tour event as well as many national, NCAA, state and event records were set,” BBTM Founder Ryan Lamppa said. “The Tour events, which awarded $120,000 in prize money, and the top Milers inspired, engaged and entertained runners of all ages and abilities, the media, fans and the general public, and we look forward to bringing back the Tour in 2014 to create more Mile magic.”
BBTM Tour 2013 highlights include:
- North Carolina State indoor record of 3:57.81 by Cory Leslie at Camel City Indoor Mile
- Meet, indoor NCAA and U.S. Junior and High School records respectively: 3:51.21 (Lopez Lomong), 3:52.98 (Chris O’Hare) and 4:28.25 (Mary Cain) at famed NYRR Wanamaker Mile
- Nine course or event records at Camel City Indoor Mile, NYRR Wanamaker Mile, Medtronic TC 1 Mile, Platinum Performance State Street Mile, DC Road Runners 1 Mile, Ryan Shay Mile, GNC Live Well Liberty Mile and Minnesota Mile
- Ben Blankenship and The Queen of the Road Miles Heather Kampf won three Tour events.
Bring Back the Mile Tour 2013 Champions
New Balance Indoor Grand Prix
Boston, MA, February 2
Matthew Centrowitz (USA / OR), 3:56.26
Btissam Lakhouad (MAR), 4:39.23
Camel City Indoor Mile
Winston-Salem, NC, February 2
Corey Leslie (USA / OH), 3:57.81*
*North Carolina State indoor record
106th Millrose Games: NYRR Wanamaker Mile
New York, NY, February 16
Lopez Lomong (USA / OR), 3:51.21, meet record
Sheila Reid (CAN), 4:27.02
Tri-Cities Track Classic: Inaugural Ray Flynn Mile
Johnson City, TN, April 20
Aaron Templeton (Hardin Valley Academy, TN), 4:20.92
Medtronic TC 1 Mile
Minneapolis, MN, May 9
Nick Willis (NZL), 3:56.1, course record ($10,000 bonus)
Sarah Brown (USA / TN), 4:33.3
Big River Festival of Miles
St. Louis, MO, May 30
Craig Miller (USA / CO), 3:59.23 (photo right)
Platinum Performance State Street Mile
Santa Barbara, CA, June 2
Michael Coe (USA / CA), 3:49, course record
Katja Goldring (USA / CA), 4:34
Footloose Freedom Mile
Mammoth Lakes, CA, July 4
Andrew Farkas (USA / CA), 4:45.4
Irene Graham (USA / CA), 5:26.7
DC Road Runners 1 Mile: RRCA Championships
Arlington, VA, July 24
David Chorney (USA / MA), 4:13.67, event record
Susanna Sullivan (USA / VA), 5:00.00
Ryan Shay Mile
Charlevoix, MI, July 27
Daniel Clark (USA / MI), 3:56.8
Heather Kampf (USA / MN), 4:30.9, course record
GNC Live Well Liberty Mile: USA Masters Championship
Pittsburgh, PA, August 9
Macklin Chaffee (USA / CO), 4:01
Heather Kampf (USA / MN), 4:32, event record
Falmouth Mile
Falmouth, MA, August 10
Ben Blankenship (USA / OR), 3:56.27
Katie Mackey (USA / WA), 4:41.39
Michigan Mile at the Crim Festival of Races
Flint, MI, August 23
Ben Blankenship (USA / OR), 4:06
Heather Kampf (USA / MN), 4:48
Grandma’s Minnesota Mile
Duluth, MN, September 8
Ben Blankenship (USA / OR), 3:52.7, course record
Gabriele Anderson (USA / MN), 4:21.3, course record
(photo right, courtesy Grandma’s Marathon/Jeff Peabody Productions)
Visit www.bringbackthemile.com/tour or contact media@bringbackthemile.com for more BBTM Tour news and information.
About Bring Back the Mile
The Mile holds a special place in Track & Field and beyond because no running distance, or field event for that matter, has the history, the appeal, the “magic” of the Mile. The first sub-4 minute Mile by Great Britain’s Roger Bannister in 1954 is regarded as the greatest individual athletic achievement of the 20th century (see Forbes November 18, 2005 article HERE), and no other event has produced an equivalent of the sub-4 minute Mile standard in the sport, in the media and in the public’s mind.
Over the past decade-plus, unfortunately, the Mile has lost some of its stature, and thus, the Bring Back the Mile mission is: To return the Mile to prominence on the American sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a national movement.
