Two National Records Set at The Lincoln Mile 2021 Race
The Lincoln Track Club, along with co-sponsor Lincoln Running Company, hosted The Lincoln Mile on July 11. With 300 registered runners, the race did not disappoint.
The Lincoln Mile is one of only two sanctioned Road Miles in the United States this year. Runners who are attempting to set USATF National Age Records are taking notice, with two records set at the event. Dan King of Boulder, Colorado, set the 62-year-olds record by winning the 50+ age group heat with a time of 4:59.
Gary Patton of Rock Rapids, Iowa, set the 75-year-olds record by running a time of 5:55.
Among the other race highlights, wheelchair racer Connie Belt recorded her fastest time in the Wheelchair Division, racing to an 11:16 time. The challenge is even greater for Connie, as she was the only wheelchair participant, so she raced against herself to set her new PR.
Each heat was on fire, with many of them having the winner decided right at the finish line! And, whether the runners were winning their heat or not, you could tell everyone was finishing as hard as they could. There is just something about The Mile!
The morning capped off with the elite heats, which seem to be everyone's favorite and the heroes for all the little runners!
In the women’s heat, the group of seven runners got to Centennial Mall in a fairly tight pack, and then the top three separated themselves shortly as they moved down the Mall. Megan Roach (Billington from previous years) held the lead, finishing in 5:22, followed closely by Madi Muma in 5:26 and right on her heels was Katie Klug in 5:27.
The men's elite heat was much larger, with 12 toeing the start line. Eventual winner Noah Rasmussen had just ran a 5k in Ames, Iowa, (and PR'd in 14:20) less than 14 hours earlier. Racing on four hours of sleep and very tired legs he ran watchless, deciding to see "how he felt." With competitor Nolan Zimmer out in front, Rasmussen said at about the half-way mark he decided to push it. He went on to win, with another PR of 4:20. Zimmer finished 3 seconds back for second place. Finishing out the top four was John Cleary in 3rd in 4:27, followed by Nolan Border in 4:28.
Many thanks to all our amazing volunteers who are willing to spend a Sunday morning in July helping us out and being great cheerleaders along the way! I also want to share a HUGE thanks to Juice Stop as they went above and beyond, getting us supplied with smoothies for the race. The Q St shop is closed for renovations, but they made the smoothies at their North 27th St. location and ran them down to us in shifts!
Again, thanks to our volunteers and all our racers for another great year of The Lincoln Mile!
--Ann Ringlein, The Mile race director
