Bring Back the Mile Accepts Magic Mile Global Team Challenge
Worldwide event September 3-16, 2012; registration now open; Team USA vs. Team UK vs. The World; how fast can you run a Mile?
By Bring Back the Mile
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – (July 25, 2012) – Bring Back the Mile has accepted the Magic Mile Global Team Challenge that was recently announced by the MarathonTALK crew in Great Britain. The main objectives of the Magic Mile competition, to be held September 3-16, are to see how fast you can run a Mile and to promote fun and fitness via the most iconic distance in sport. In the Challenge, BBTM will be leading the Team USA effort, while MarathonTALK will represent Team UK, and The Naked Runners from Australia, Team Rest of the World.
“The Mile gauntlet has been thrown down by our friends at MarathonTALK, and we hope to show the world that the Mile is America’s distance,” said Ryan Lamppa, Bring Back the Mile Founder. “We will have ‘a bit of fun’ with Team UK and Team Rest of the World during this Magic Mile Challenge. May the best team win!”
Step 1: Registration is now open at www.marathontalk.com/challenges/magic_mile.php
Step 2: Between September 3-16, run one flat out Mile.
Step 3: You can run your Mile solo or set up or find a Mile event in your hometown.
Step 4: Submit results by 12:00 GMT Tuesday, September 18 (7:00 PM EST Monday, Sept 17)
Magic Mile Global Team Challenge 2012 Fast Facts:
- Twitter hashtag: #signupforfast
- The competition will be Team UK vs. Team Rest of the World vs. Team USA.
- This is a team challenge so participation will be weighted slightly more strongly than performance – getting involved will get you more points than running fast!
- Times will be converted to an age-graded percentage and an average calculated for each region.
- There will also be bonus percentage points added based on the number of entries.
- You can post as many Mile times as you like between September 3-16 and the fastest will count.
- You can challenge other Milers through “rivals” on MarathonTALK.com.
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, unfortunately, the Mile has lost some of its luster, 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.
Visit www.bringbackthemile.com or contact media@bringbackthemile.com for more information.
