'Merica's Mile

We had terrific conditions last night, it was absolutely perfect for running a mile on the track. 19 competitors toed the line, following our moment of silence to honor the significance of the day, to run 1609 meters. With some participants electing to incorporate the mile into the workout rather than "race," it meant Tim Burns was on a solo mission to take the inaugural title. Tim was at 2:20 and 3:31 at half and 3/4, but wasn't able to pull back that little bit of time to squeeze under 4:40. But, he did get the win, and a season best, in 4:42.46.

Second place was nearly 100m back, but it became a race as Joel Brusewitz held off Remus Medley, and then it was another gap back to Joel Brusewitz, Drew Thivierge, and Diane Heiser, our women's champion. Diane had some comfortable pacesetting from Nate Brigham and Alex Battaglino as they took her through the halfway point in 2:40. She went on to negative split the back half, finishing in 5:13.42.

On behalf of your country, we commend you for doing your part in this Magic Mile Global Team Challenge! Make sure you log your result on www.marathonTALK.com so the US gets credit! I'll post the picture later, for now you can check the twitpic. Results below.

Here we are at the start of 'Merica's Mile, before our moment of silence. twitter.com/BMoreRunning/s…
— RunBaltimore (@BMoreRunning) September 12, 2012

'Merica's Mile

September 11, 2012

Baltimore, MD

Overall Results               Time

1. Tim Burns                  4:42.46

2. Joel Brusewitz            4:56.83
3. Remus Medley           4:57.22
4. Joel Gladfelter            5:10.94
5. Andrew Thivierge       5:11.39

6. Diane Heiser*            5:13.42

7. Nate Brigham             5:17.71
8. Alex Battaglino           5:17.94
9. Matt Franco               5:31.83
10. Dan Miranda            5:32.93
11. Steve Febish            5:32.99
12. Megan DiGregorio*  5:33.71
13. Ben Steinberg           5:34.09
14. Meg McNew*         5:37.71
15. Sara Breedlove*      5:39.30
16. Melissa Tanner*       5:41.60
17. Emily Hurley*           6:27.36
18. Sara Damiano*         7:01.01
19. Anonymous              7:43.91

Do it for 'Merica!

If you haven't been keeping up with the radio show, or haven't seen any of the recent twitter activity from our friends at Bring Back the Mile, here's what you NEED to know right now:

Bring Back the Mile has engaged in a friendly but spirited competition with MarathonTALK in the U.K. and The Naked Runners from the Land Down Under to see which country truly has the right to claim the MILE as their own. The premise is simple: between September 3rd and September 16th, you run one flat out mile, and record your time. It's that easy!

If you're fortunate enough to be a runner in Baltimore, and particularly for our regulars at TNT, we will be holding our event tonight at the track. Of course, we'll do more of a workout to follow, but we'll start with a one mile race. The weather tonight is perfect, and of course there could not be a better day to honor the fortitude of our great country than today, Patriot Day.

Here's a little more information on the Magic Mile Global Team Challenge and then when you're ready to log your result, you just register on MarathonTALK's site.

If you are not in Baltimore, you can find other events in your area, or start your own - but hurry, there's only a few days left! It doesn't matter whether you are a sub 4 minute miler, or a 20 minute miler, the important thing is that you're getting out there and challenging yourself. So get out there and do it!

Details for tonight's event

'Merica's Mile
Gilman High School
Baltimore
6:30pm warmup
7:00pm start time
1609 meters of pure guts

Spend It

We recapped most of the track results, and by now everyone should know that Ed Aramayo was our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week, but there were a few road race results from the weekend that I wanted to point out:

At the BRRC Valentine's Day 10k, in peaceful, snow-kissed Loch Raven, Meg DiGregorio won the women's race and was 3rd overall in the great time of 39:49.  Terry Decker finished just behind her in 40:53, and then it was Denise Knickman, 43 years young, finishing at 43:43.  Christine Trzcinski rounded out the top 3 women in 45:52.

Sunday was the Love the Run You're With 5k, where Tom and Patty Stott raced to great finishes.  Tom was 12th in 18:09, while Patty crossed in 24:15. 

Today's website for you to peruse is Bring Back The Mile.  These guys were on The Runaround last night and have been gaining traction recently with their campaign to make the Mile a relevant race again, replacing the so-called "metric mile" equivalent that has invaded our sport like cane toads.  Take a look at it when you get a chance, and support the Mile!

ALSO: Sorting through the Club Challenge roster and there are some people I do not know.  It's the last three guys' names, and the person who named themselves "Hard Wood."  This may be considered funny for other races, but in a race where we are paying your entry, it is not that cool.  It reflects poorly on our group, and provides more fodder for the other clubs, many of which already have negative opinions of us.  So, if you are one of those guys, please email me at runbaltimore@gmail.com.  Thank you!