The Navy Mile (10/2/16)
It used to be that a good one mile race was one of the biggest attractions in sports, when athletes like Roger Bannister (UK), Jim Ryun (USA) and Kip Keino (Kenya) rocketed to international fame. But as the world has gravitated more to the metric system, the classic mile has lost a lot of its luster and few international mile races remain open on the international circuit. In the last several years however, a grassroots movement called Bring Back the Mile is attempting to restore that distance to relevance.
Runners of all ages participated in the 2nd annual Navy Mile. Proceeds from the USATF sanctioned event support the Naval Sea Cadet Corps, the Safe Harbor Foundation and the Navy Memorial. USAA was the lead sponsor for the event. The series of 14 one mile heats down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. on Sunday October 2 kicked off the United States Navy birthday week.
Runners were grouped by age group. A special heat was reserved for the Sea Cadets. The event concluded with special heats for the "elite" races for men and women who met special qualification standards. These were won by Riley Masters of Seattle Wash. and Heather Kampf of Minneapolis, Minn. with times of 4:03 and 4:38 respectively. Masters just missed collecting a special cash bonus for breaking the 4 minute barrier.
Read MoreRunners of all ages participated in the 2nd annual Navy Mile. Proceeds from the USATF sanctioned event support the Naval Sea Cadet Corps, the Safe Harbor Foundation and the Navy Memorial. USAA was the lead sponsor for the event. The series of 14 one mile heats down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. on Sunday October 2 kicked off the United States Navy birthday week.
Runners were grouped by age group. A special heat was reserved for the Sea Cadets. The event concluded with special heats for the "elite" races for men and women who met special qualification standards. These were won by Riley Masters of Seattle Wash. and Heather Kampf of Minneapolis, Minn. with times of 4:03 and 4:38 respectively. Masters just missed collecting a special cash bonus for breaking the 4 minute barrier.