Birthday: 09/17/42Mile PR: 4:39.6 - 1971 Metric Mile (1500m) PR: 4:14.6 - 1971 High School: Peninsula HS '60 Hometown: Tacoma, WA College: Seattle Pacific '64 Current Residence: Seattle, WA
Doris Brown Heritage was the first U.S. woman to break 4:40 in the Mile when she ran 4:39.6 on June 12, 1971 in Portland, OR, and in her career, she set the U.S. Mile record six times - twice indoors and 4 times outdoors between 1966-71 and was also the first woman to run a sub-5 minute Mile indoors, with a time of 4:52 in 1966. Overall, Doris set the indoor Mile world record twice and the indoor 1500 WR thrice.
The two-time U.S. Olympic team member (competed at 1968 Mexico City Olympics) was the AAU indoor 1 Mile champion in 1967-68 and 1971-72 as well as the AAU 1500 champion in 1966, '69 and '74. She was also the 800m silver medalist at the 1967 & 1971 Pan Am Games.
Brown, a women's running pioneer and humble legend, was also a five-time world cross country champion (1967-71), and over her career, she won 14 national titles. Brown also coached at Seattle Pacific University for 35 years, her alma mater, with 22 of them as head cross country coach.
"One of my favorite track races was an indoor Mile in Vancouver, Canada... the Mile was a new race for women and so I had no experience, but our training and appreciation of the opportunity brought a win [and the first women's indoor sub-5 Mile]... that race seemed to give me a lot of...
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.
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!