Twentysomething elite runners in the U.S. are famous for bemoaning the lack of track racing opportunities in the United States. But New Zealander Nick Willis, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist at 1500m (who turned 30 in April), decided to do something about it.
The result was The Running Institute Mile at Saline High School, just south of Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sunday night.
Willis won the race in 3:56.57. He was followed by Daniel Clark in 3:57.40, the first Michigan native to dip under 4 on Michigan soil. Miles Batty took third in 3:58.06, and four more runners bested 4 minutes, bringing the total to seven on the evening. I was the seventh, finishing in 3:59.50—and the second Michigander.
But it wasn’t the times that impressed. It was the race.
I’m no expert in crowd estimation, but there had to be more than 3,000 people there. They packed the small set of stands. They filled the grassy knoll right next to the finish line. They crowded the hastily made hurdle and caution tape barrier in lane 6 so that they could be as close to the action as possible. The set of campers there with Tim Broe ran around like wild banshees on the infield screaming at us, “Run! Faster!”
Cooling down with Miles Batty after the race—we had to leave the track to cool down, because there were too many high school kids asking for autographs—we joked that more people watched us in Saline than watched the 10,000m at the U.S. championships in June in Des Moines.
It was certainly livelier. The crowd was loud. Being introduced before the race was about the closest I’ve felt to being an NBA star. The crowd roared as I jogged down the straightaway and waved to them. They did for everyone. Especially for the high schooler from Saline who was selected to rabbit the first lap. Us runners couldn’t help but look at
one another and whisper how cool this was. My usual prerace nerves were gone, replaced by awe.
The picturesque August night in Michigan with its billowing clouds and sunset pink sky didn’t hurt either.
We lined up along the half parabola of a start line that was taped in on the bouncy Saline track as a race official, who looked like he may have been plucked from the stands, gave the starting commands. We got off smoothly and bunched up behind our rabbit. He was a little slower than expected, but he ran smoothly and evenly. The race was pretty uneventful until 400m to go, when the clock struck 3:00 and we all jockeyed for position and picked up the pace.
With 250m to go I had drifted to probably fourth or fifth place but decided that I felt pretty good. I moved into the outside of lane 2 and was ready to make a move to the front of the race. Right then, Willis, who was sitting on the shoulder of the leaders, made a quick glance back at the field and took off. I tried to follow and was able to … but sadly for only about 100m. By the time Willis had 15 meters on the field and I was in second place with 150m to go, I was toast. Five runners went by me and I struggled home in seventh.
I was happy I held on to stay under 4, even if I had made too big a move to try to stick with Willis, who closed his last quarter mile in the 56-second range. I was able to come back to Michigan and break four minutes in front of family, friends, and high school coach who hadn’t seen me race in ages.
Most of the racers did a mini version of a victory lap and applauded back toward the crowd who had pushed us along. Willis got on the PA system and thanked everyone for coming out. He was thrilled not only with his performance, but with how the event turned out. He promised to visit as many Michigan high school cross country teams as possible this fall. The charged energy from the race didn’t dissipate until long after the crowd was gone.
We all questioned why there aren’t more races like this in the U.S. during the summer. Elite runners often talk about how it’s a drag to spend more than $1,000 on a plane ticket to Europe just to race a bunch of other Americans.
Although European races continue to be a great opportunity for runners to get in summer racing, Willis put on a phenomenal race that had prize money for the top five ($1,000, $500, $250, $150, $100) and an atmosphere most runners only dream of.
True, Willis had other motives beyond filling up the U.S. summer calendar. His first son was born on July 5. The new father wanted to stick as close to home as possible before heading for Moscow and the world championships. This was a perfect tune-up race for him, no travel required.
Still, he hopes this turns into a yearly event. And with the throngs of high schoolers that surrounded all the racers, asking for autographs and advice after the race, we all hope it happens again, too.
