Race Recap: Lincoln Mile

The Lincoln Mile gets better—and faster—every year! The weather was beautiful as runners powered down R Street to Centennial Mall and back to the finish in front of the Lied Center. Overall, 404 finished the race with some amazingly fast times.Twenty-eight male runners broke the 5:00 barrier, while seventeen women finished in under 6:00.The race started off with the 50-plus heat, and the morning worked its way down to the Kids’ Grand Prix heats, which had an extra challenge this year: beat the Kids’ Grand Prix race directors for entry into a drawing for a free pair of shoes. The winners were Emma Zakaras, 8, who ran a 9:32 mile; and Grady Anderson, 10, who ran 7:47 mile. Awesome job!The morning always wraps up with Lincoln Running Co. heat and the elite heats. In the LRC heat the times ranged from 5:13 for Eric Heyl to 7:26 for Ann Ringlein (who was running her second heat of the morning!). And Noah Rasmussen used the LRC heat to warm up for his elite heat, running a 5:43 and then a 4:33!The women’s elite heat had some fast finishers. Katie Fitzsimmons, 25, of Omaha, finished in 5:11, followed by Megan Billington with a 5:12, Jessa Sughroue in 5:19, Marissa Moore in 5:20, Kelly Messbarger in 5:41, and Katie Klug in 5:58. The men’s elite was crowded this year with twenty-one runners. Andy Vasquez, 21, of Omaha, won in a time of 4:24. He was followed by Heath Lamb in 4:26, Chad Berens and Kyle Johnson in 4:29, and Clay Simpson in 4:30.The age-graded results show how the Mile performances stacked up against other runners of similar age (if you want to read more, click here). This year’s Mile had 23 times considered National Class Performance and 74 considered Regional Class. Lynn Rathjen, 74, with a finishing time of 5:58.90, was 0.44 from being considered World Class. Ann Ringlein was National Class in her first heat and Regional Class in the LRC heat. And there were a couple 6-, 7-, and 9-year-olds who finished at the Regional Class level. The future of running is fast!This year’s Lincoln Mile was also an RRCA State Championship race. Congratulations to Katie Fitzsimmons, Carrie Grant, Sue Hartman, and Ann Ringlein, and Andy Vasquez, Shannon Stenger, Craig Christians, and Lynn Rathjen. RRCA results are here.Complete results from the Lincoln Mile are here.Thanks to the volunteers who make the race happen and to the runners who give it their all for One and Done! Thanks to Saucony and to the Juice Stop for the America’s Cup smoothies, which seemed appropriate on the day the US women’s soccer team won the World Cup!See you next year!Photos by Tracy Murray Hoffman and Jeremy Mendoza.