TC 1 Mile Record Blasted
On a cold, windy Minneapolis spring evening, Nick Willis extended his season winning streak to eight races with a record-breaking victory at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile. The Olympic silver medalist and New Zealand native clocked 3:56.2 to smash three-time Medtronic TC 1 Mile champion David Torrence’s 2011 record of 3:58.4.
In the women’s professional race, Sarah Brown of Atlanta, Ga., the 2010 runner-up, edged Canadian Olympian Nicole Sifuentes at the tape in 4:33.3, with Sifuentes clocked at 4:33.4. Defending champion Heather Kampf of Minneapolis was third with 4:34.1
Elite runners come from all over the world to chase down the $5,000 purse given to the first place male and female finishers. They also had a shot at taking home another $10,000 if they break the course record – which Willis did. Unofficial results.
The Rest of the Pack
“My lungs are burning!” Ross says with a smile. He and 3100 other runners just completed the Medtronic TC 1 mile race in downtown Minneapolis. Despite the pain he may feel internally, he doesn’t show it. He laughs out loud as he commits to breaking today’s goal next year- running the mile in under 5 minutes.
The TC 1 mile 9th annual race takes place on Nicollet Mall from Marquette Plaza to Ryans Pub in Minneapolis. As a part of Twin Cities in Motion’s Health and Wellness Campaign, this race brings out runners from many backgrounds for a stroll, or sprint, down Nicollet Mall at dusk.
Before the elites took the course, several waves of runners took their turn starting at 6:53 p.m. with the friends and family wave. According to one TCM volunteer, more kids joined the race this year than in year’s past. Following the friends and family wave came the corporate challenge where 46 teams from local organizations challenge each other for fastest or most participant titles. Following them came the Minnesota USA Track and Field runners competing in the USATF Minnesota Circuit and then master and open waves.
Benefits to New Runners
The TC 1 Mile is a great race for new runners. A lot of ‘couch to something’ ‘lets-get-active’ type conversations default to the 5k race distance when a one mile race may be more beneficial to a new runner. 1/3rd the distance with a little less training. If anything it certainly is a more palatable distance to encourage fitness.
When asked what advice she would give amateur runners taking on a one mile race for the first time, Phoebe Wright said “Run faster than you think you can.” Wright is one of the elite runners who competed in the 2013 Medtronic Twin Cities In Motion 1 mile, finishing 4th.
Many of today’s amateur runners may never consider running a mile race. “Not worth my time”, or “for what reason?” they may say when asked about it. Others might simply think it will be too painful.
Ross advises first time milers to “Be patient.” for the first half and to “…bring it home with heart”
What’s your experience with running a mile? Would you consider doing the TC 1 Mile in 2014?
Checkout some pics of the event on our Facebook page.
