Athlete: Ian Milder
Year: Senior
School: Mount Tabor
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Mile PR: 4:12.71
3200m PR: 8:53.99
Ian Milder of North Carolina, who pole vaulted as a freshman to avoid running, will take his nation-leading 8:53.99 3200m into this weekend’s Arcadia Invitational in California. Milder, a senior at Mount Tabor High, will run the 3200m on Saturday night. The event usually produces the fastest times in the country. Last year, 16 boys broke 9:00.
Surprise Attack: Even though Milder was a Foot Locker finalist last fall, his U.S. leading time at the Raleigh Relays on March 28 at North Carolina State was a shocker. Two weeks before in New York, Milder placed 22nd overall in the New Balance Nationals indoor mile, running 4:18.07, but he was sick. In 2013 at the Raleigh 3200m, Milder placed seventh in 9:13.65. His recent performance was 20 seconds faster than the previous year.
Sensational Field: The Raleigh 3200m was loaded with state champions and Foot Locker finalists from North Carolina. To insure a fast time, a rabbit was assigned to take the field through the first 1600m in 4:27. However, the contenders started passing the rabbit after two laps and Milder hit the halfway point in 4:32, a step behind the leader. His coach, Patrick Cromwell, yelled to Milder to hammer it home. Milder took off, running his second 1600m in 4:21 and the last lap in 60 seconds. Milder won by 35 meters over Broughton’s William Roberson, who ran 8:58.88. In all, 24 runners broke 9:20.
Scare Tactics: Milder said he had no specific time goals, only to try to win with aggressive tactics. In some races, he said, he has been too timid, running “scared.” At Foot Locker, Milder placed 25th, a disappointment after taking third in the South Regional. Coach Cromwell has helped Milder gain confidence in his training. Of the 8:53, Milder says, “I ran up to my fitness level.”
Going Long: Milder occasionally does a 14-mile training run consisting of two loops of a 7-mile trail around a lake. About a month before the Raleigh race, he ran the first loop with teammates, and then blasted the second loop on his own at 5:30 per mile pace.
Saturday Showdown: Milder can’t wait to mix it up in the national-caliber field at Arcadia. Time wise, he’d love to break the Mount Tabor school record of 8:50.16 set at Arcadia in 2003 by Matt Debole, who went on to become an All-American at Georgetown University. Milder is traveling to California with a teammate entered in the girls 3200m—Kayla Montgomery, reputed for her nationally ranked performances while coping with multiple sclerosis. “Kayla’s always improving,” Milder says. “She’s really inspiring.”
Slow Start: Milder went out for track as a freshman in the spring of 2011 because a friend on the team, a senior pole vaulter, told him if he took up the vault he would not have to do any running and they could hang out together. Milder no-heighted in a few meets, broke his finger playing basketball, stuck with track and ran a couple of slow distance races like a deer in the headlights.
Getting Serious: After making some friends on the team, Milder decided to go out for cross country. He did not run a step all summer. With little drive as a sophomore that fall, Milder still ran some decent times. After a mid-season 17:42 5K, Milder was pulled aside by coach Cromwell, who told him, “You could be really good if you actually start to put some effort into it.” Two years later, Milder ran 14:49 for 5K in the Foot Locker South.
Last Laugh: While making a commitment to train 50 to 65 miles a week, and “becoming a student of the sport,” as he says, Milder has retained his goofy sense of humor. There was the time in the winter of 2013 when Milder returned from a family ski trip to Europe. Cromwell wasn’t crazy about Milder risking injury on a ski slope in Switzerland. After the trip, Milder showed up at practice wearing a protective boot on his left foot, walking with crutches and feigning pain. Cromwell says he was not fooled. Milder says otherwise.
State Supremacy: Later that junior season, Milder collected his first state title, winning the outdoor 4A 3200m in 9:19.71. Milder added two more state crowns this winter, the indoor 1600m (4:21.63) and 3200m (9:18.76) on the same day. After Arcadia, Milder will run the Penn Relays mile in Philadelphia on April 25, then focus on the North Carolina state 4A meet, May 17 in Greensboro, site of outdoor nationals in June.
College Plans: Milder will do his college running close to home, at North Carolina State, which has an excellent recruiting class led by four of the top five finishers in last fall’s state 4A cross country meet.
Great Potential: Cromwell says that because Milder has been training for only 2 ½ years, he will bring a yet-to-mature body into college. “If he stays healthy and hungry,” said Cromwell, “Ian can be an elite 5K and 10K runner at the NCAA level.” That, and he needs to skip the ski trips.
Marc Bloom’s high school cross-country rankings have played an influential role in the sport for more than 20 years and led to the creation of many major events, including Nike Cross Nationals and the Great American Cross Country Festival. He published his cross-country journal, Harrier, for more than two decades.
