College Ave Mile Announces Elite Fields; Free Shoes Raffle Video

College Ave Mile Announces Elite Fields

In its inaugural year, New Jersey's first "Festival of Miles" already has hundreds of entries and stacked elite fields.  That said, runners are encouraged to arrive early, park in Buccleuch Park, and pick up their packets on Morrell Street, alongside the College Ave Gym (130 College Ave, NB).  The event starts with a youth race and several elite races, followed by seven open races based on seed time; see the race schedule below.    

The race is a flat, fast, spectator-friendly, two-loop course that starts and finishes on Rutgers' historic College Ave, going down Senior, Sicard, and Bartlett Streets.  The Olive Branch, the post-race party spot and primary sponsor on the race course, will be open both for bathrooms and $2 beers all morning long!  The race is DJ'ed by DJ Louie Styles (soundcloud.com/djlouiestyles), race pictures will be taken by Rutgers/Sports Illustrated photographer Will Schneekloth and found here http://www.willschneekloth.com, and results will be posted here http://www.fasttracktiming.com/.

Today is the final day of pre-registration here http://raceforum.com/registration/EventDetail.aspx?e=5075.  Day-of-race registrants must register for their race one hour beforehand, and all runners must arrive to the starting line ten minutes before their scheduled start time!  More information can be found here: http://www.gardenstatetc.org/college/mile.html.

Open Men (11:10am)

This will be both a very fast and very tight race, as ten entries have seed times of 4:20 or faster.  The field is lead by former Loyola standout Chris Heibell, who has run 3:49 for 1500 meters and is the GSTC club record holder in both the 1500m and 5,000m.  Clipping at his heels will be former Rutgers middle distance star Jon Karlsson (1:53/800m), Josh Kramer, Saucony-sponsored Jeff Perrella (4:10/Yale), Adin Mickle (Temple), Tony Harris (1:53/800m), Andrew Capizzi (Ramapo), Cole Crosby (4:16/ Princeton), steepler Ken Goglas (UConn), Reynaldo Reyes (Mapleshade),  Luis Romero (Bloomfield), 5k specialist Tim Morgan (St. Thomas Aquinas), and DMR national record holder from St. Benedict's High School, Talief Jackson.

Open Women (11:10am)

This is also a stacked field replete with speedy post-collegiates, but the headliner is current Columbia University distance star Mallory Anderson.  With an emphasis on the steeplechase this year, her full mile PR is 4:55.87 from the 2010 indoor season.  On her shoulder will most certainly be Jamie Liberti, a University of Pennsylvania alum, who has also focused on longer distances recently.  However, her all-time PR of 4:33.53 from 2007 is very quick, and she clocked a 4:50.08 at the USATF-NJ Track and Field Championships last weekend.  Also fighting for the win will be 4:51 Rutgers miler Cheyenne Ogletree, along with post-collegiates Alyssa Douma (Lock Haven), Erin Higgins (Felician), and Kristen Cupido (Kutztown). 

Elite Masters (11:35am)

Four of New Jersey's best masters runners will square off in the Elite Master's Race:  Nick Van Langen (Hillsborough), Matt Baker (Skillman), Jeremy Stratton (Parlin), and Brian Crowley (Hillsborough). Takeshi Yamazaki, also entering with a strong seed time, will be making the trip from NYC to tangle with this talented quartet from Jersey, and there is talk that Dave Hoch will be lining up with some fellow Shore AC elite masters.

Crowley highlights the field, as the 46-year-old was ranked 4th in America at 1500m (4:24.25) and 5th in the 3,000m (9:22.61) in M45 category.  In his masters' career, he has been ranked #2 in one of these two events an impressive five times.  Stratton, now 51, sports an impressive 2:23 marathon PR and is a two-time Indian Trails 15k champion.  Van Langen, 46, is also very fit and recently ran 28:59 (5:49 pace) at the Ashenfelter 8k in November, along with a 4:55.59 clocking in last week's USATF-NJ 1500m master's track and field championships.  Baker has run 18:57 (Run for Rachel 5k) and is one of RVRR's stronger master athletes.

 

Elite High School (10:55am) & Open Youth (10:00am)

The youth race, 14 and under, currently has forty-one entries.  The Asbury Park Boys and Girls Club are bringing thirteen youngsters, and top seeds in the youth race are Spotswood's Justin Huryk and Brick's Robert Pedersen. 

In the elite high school race, look for New Brunswick's Edsel Flores and Ridgewood's Jack Costello (Don Bosco Prep) to battle for the gold, while the top girls' elite high school entry is New York City's Erika Yamazaki, whose father is entered in the elite master's men's mile.

Boys under 4:40 and girls under 5:30 are welcome to enter the elite high school race on-line or day-of.

Pre-Registration Raffle: Video Below

Winners of the eight shoes and three tech shirts can pick up their prizes at the registration table upon arrival!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dgJUAFf5Ak&feature=youtu.be

Race Schedule

10:00-10:25 Youth (14 and under)
10:35-10:55 Elite Masters/Seniors
10:55-11:10 Elite HS
11:10-11:25 Elite Open 
11:25-11:45 Ten Minutes and Up
11:45-12:00 Nine to Ten Minute Race
12:00-12:15 Eight to Nine Minute Race
12:15-12:30 Seven to Eight Minute Race
12:30-12:40 Six to Seven Minute Race
12:40-12:50 Five to Six Minute Race
12:50-1:00   Sub-Five Minute Race

Awards

Elite Open Winners: Free shoes from Sneaker Factory Running Centers (Millburn, Basking Ridge and Long Branch)

Top Ten Men & Women in Every Heat: College Ave Mile Medals

Heat Winners: Free month membership to the Robert Wood Johnson Wellness Center (eight locations)

Heat Silver Medalists:  Gift Certificates from Sneaker Factory Running Centers (Millburn, Basking Ridge and Long Branch)

Heat Bronze Medalists: Prize donated by Saucony

*Awards can be redeemed at the awards tent thirty minutes after every race*

The Mile: Tradition, History, and Heroes

"The mile has all the elements of drama."  -Roger Bannister

"The mile has a classic symmetry.  It's a play in four acts."  -John Landy

"Blink and you miss a sprint.  The 10,000 meters is lap after lap of waiting.  Theatrically, the mile is just the 

right length: beginning, middle, end, a story unfolding."  -Sebastian Coe

"The 800 meter record, the records in the 1000, the 1500, the 5000, the relays: no one remembers them.  The mile, they remember.  Only the mile."  -John Walker

"Almost every part of the mile is tactically important: you can never let down, never stop thinking, and you can beaten at almost any point.  I suppose you could say it is like life."  -John Landy