LODI MILE COMING AUGUST 12
For five years, Jeff Merrill has hoped to see a 4-minute mile run in Lodi. With the sixth annual Lodi Mile coming up on Aug. 12, Merrill grows hopeful again.
“They’ve been so close in years past. Can anybody do it in Lodi now? That’s the challenge. These are competitive guys,” Merrill said. “Nobody’s done it in San Joaquin County since Don Bowden in 1956 at UOP, and that was the first time an American hit it. Regardless, it will be a good race.”
For the second year in a row, the Lodi Mile will take place at Hutchins Street Square, which saw Stanford alumnus Garrett Heath come close with a 4 minute, 1-second run in 2017.
“We like that as our new home,” Merrill said. “We had some fast times there last year, so we’ll see if they can dip under that. The female winner set the race and course record last year at 4:38.”
The men’s and women’s Elite races, which attract professional runners, have a $200 bonus for breaking the 4minute mile in the men’s race and 4:32 in the women’s race. Leah O’Connor, a former NCAA champion from Michigan State, came the closest in the women’s race at 4:38.
“That’s roughly the equivalent for women. That will probably be debated by some people out there,” Merrill said. “The women’s field, we’re lucky enough to have Kim Conway out there. She’s hit 4:24. Stephanie Brown has done a 4:29, and she’s in great shape this year, so she’ll definitely be pushing Kim for the title. You never know what can happen.”
A few things Merrill knows will happen: a beer and wine garden near the finish line, a food vendor or two and a number of footwear vendors will liven up the place, and the runners will be in town the night before for a run-down of the races and introduction at Five Windows Brewery at 6 p.m. the night before.
“You’ll be able to come out to Five Window at 6 p.m. on Saturday, grab a beer or a nonalcoholic drink, a pizza, and get to know the athletes a little bit, have some fun with them,” Merrill said.
The day will feature a number of races, starting with a kids and family race at 9 a.m., followed by open races at 9:25 a.m. At 10:05, the high school girls championship race will run, followed by the high school boys race at 10:35.
“The high school races are very exciting, too,” Merrill said. “They’re scored cross country style, but they’re teams of four. We have different high schools from around the area, and we give a prize to the winner. Then we’ve got two wine barrels with last year’s team signatures, and we’re going to keep adding to it like the Stanley Cup.”
Last year was the first year for the high school races, with nine boys teams and three girls teams. Merrill expects to have a higher turnout for those races this year.
Finally come the elite races,
with the women’s race at 11 a.m. and the men’s race at 11:10 a.m. Merrill called them the best fields assembled so far in the Lodi Mile.
The personal bests in the mile among the women’s field ranges from Kim Conley’s 4:24.54 to a 4:46. In the men’s field, five runners have a sub-4minute mile on their resumes — Tripp Hurt with a 3:58.54, Chad Noelle with a 3:57.02, Bannon Kidder with a 3:56.06, Henry Wynne with a 3:55.23 and Heath with a 3:53.15.
“It’s a chess match out there as to who’s going to do what, because the ultimate goal is to win the race,” Merrill said. “If the best way to win is to take it out hard, the 4-minute barrier is in jeopardy. If someone thinks they can win the race at a slower pace, they might, but they’ll miss out on a $200 bonus.”
Merrill said he was very proud of the local sponsors who stepped up to make it a completely local event.
“Which is cool to see for a race of this level, to see a community to come together,” he said. “Usually you have a big corporate sponsor from outside come in and take over the signage, but we have great sponsors in town who want to keep it that way.”
The race will close several roads for the morning, but only the stretches of road that encircle Hutchins Street Square.
For more information or to sign up, visit www.lodimile.com.