Inaugural GNC Live Well Liberty Mile Draws Top Field in Pittsburgh
2012 USA 1 Mile road champions Miller, Kampf headline; $25,000 prize purse with $4000 for each Open race champion
PITTSBURGH – Runners in inaugural races have no race records to break or past champions to beat. At the GNC Live Well Liberty Mile on Friday, August 17, top American milers, known for chasing big dreams one mile at a time, are guaranteed to make history in Pittsburgh in the country’s newest Mile race.
The 2012 USA 1 Mile road champions Heather Kampf and Craig Miller headline the deep elite field. Miller, who finished 9th in the 1500 meters at the recent Olympic Trials, will compete against other sub-4:00 Americans milers, including, AJ Acosta, Cory Leslie, Christian Hesch and Liam Boylan-Pett. Up-and-coming mile star Daniel Clark also will run and has won two consecutive road miles this summer at the Ryan Shay Mile and Golden Mile.
For the women, Kampf will face tough competition from Kellyn Johnson, who finished 4th at the USA 1 Mile Road Championship, and Karly Hamric, who set a new personal best in the 1500m semifinals this summer at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
“For years, GNC has been the leader in providing the fuel for runners to achieve their goals, and we believe it’s time that we bring the quickly emerging world of one-mile road races to Pittsburgh, our home town,” said Jeff Hennion, EVP - Chief Marketing Officer & eCommerce at GNC. “To make that happen, we are proud to sponsor the inaugural GNC Live Well Liberty Mile and launch it in a way that we expect will immediately make it one of the nation’s largest.”
The inaugural GNC Live Well Liberty Mile will take place on Friday, August 17 on Pittsburgh’s Liberty Avenue. The point-to-point course has a gradual rise for the first half and then rounds a slight curve toward a downhill finish. The race offers a guaranteed prize purse of $25,000 – one of the largest for the distance, including $4000 for the first place finishers in the men’s and women’s elite heats.
The Liberty Mile is a partner of the Bring Back the Mile campaign, www.bringbackthemile.com, a national movement to return the Mile to prominence in the American sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the iconic distance.
Visit http://libertymile.org to register or for more information.
About Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon, Inc.
Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon, Inc. is a non-profit organization that promotes the love of long-distance running and enhances community involvement in fitness activities through high quality events open to a wide variety of ages and ability levels.
Contact: Kelsey Jackson, Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon, Inc., (417) 425-9400
kjackson@pittsburghmarathon.com
NOTE: A complete list of the elite field for the GNC Live Well Liberty Mile is below.
Elite Entrants: Liberty Mile - Friday, August 17, 2012
Updated August 16, 2012
| MEN | |||
| NAME | TEAM | BEST | |
| 1 | AJ Acosta | USA | 3:53.7 |
| 2 | Jordan McNamara | USA | 3:54.89 |
| 3 | Jeff See | USA | 3:55.24 |
| 4 | Cory Leslie | USA | 3:56.85 |
| 5 | Liam Boylan-Pett | USA | 3:58.19 |
| 6 | Christian Hesch | USA | 3:58.68 |
| 7 | Craig Miller | USA | 3:58.98 |
| 8 | Abiyot Endale | ETHIOPIA | 3:59.4 |
| 9 | Daniel Clark | USA | 4:00.14 |
| 10 | Tony Filipek | USA | 4:02.8 |
| 11 | Festus Kigen | KENYA | 4:06.9 |
| 12 | Brian Harvey | USA | 4:07.97 |
| 13 | Clay Burnett | USA | 4:09.72 |
| WOMEN | |||
| NAME | COUNTRY | BEST | |
| 1 | Gabriele Anderson | USA | 4:27.94 |
| 2 | Sarah Bowman | USA | 4:29.72i |
| 3 | Heather Kampf | USA | 4:30.95 |
| 4 | Kellyn Johnson | USA | 4:34.41 |
| 5 | Karly Hamric | USA | 4:37.35 |
| 6 | Chemtai Rionotukei | KENYA | 4:39* |
| 7 | Jamie Cheever | USA | 4:39.54 |
| 8 | Stephanie Chanigo | USA | 4:41* |
| 9 | Risper Gesabwa | KENYA | 4:44.79** |
| 10 | Kelley Miller | USA | 4:44.9 |
| 11 | Karaleigh Millhouse | USA | 4:46 |
| 12 | Hellen Jemutai | KENYA | 4:49.16** |
| 13 | Stephanie Bonk | USA | 4:54.0 |
| i | = indoors | ||
| * Denotes converted 1500m time | |||
| ** Denotes converted 5000m time | |||
