Mile News


Millrose Games’ glamour is diminished, prestige is not

February 20, 2016

“The Millrose Games has always been an institution in track & field, and the Wanamaker Mile is the marquee event.”

By Lindsay Crouse, New York Times

If athletes are talented enough to land a coveted spot in the 109th Millrose Games, the elite annual indoor track meet taking place Saturday in Manhattan, they are participating in a relic from a golden era of track & field — one when top athletes were knighted, runners were timed by tuxedo-clad men with gold timepieces and thousands of spectators cheered them on.

But these days, the meet can be as much about traditional prestige as about modern indignities. It is no longer broadcast long into the night to audiences across the country, but, rather, is staged in the afternoon. Instead of racing before 18,000 fans on the tight boards at Madison Square Garden, athletes compete before 4,000 on the capacious 200-meter banked track at the New Balance Track & Field Center in the 168th Street armory in Upper Manhattan.

But these shifts make the drive of those who come to compete in what was once called the “indoor Olympics” — and those who turn up to watch them — seem that much stronger. That devotion is perhaps nowhere more on display than in the flagship event at Millrose, the Wanamaker Mile.

Continue reading at: www.nytimes.com

Tags: wanamaker mile (70) , shannon rowbury (61) , ryan lamppa (110) , nick willis (109) , millrose games (67) , matthew centrowitz (132) , bbtm news (207)

Facebook Comments

Return 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!

Join Us

Thanks for joining the movement and being a Mile Maniac. We'll keep you up to-date with our Mile wires as well as exclusive contests and opportunities. Help us spread the word by sharing our site and joining us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!