Race Report: Lincoln Mile

photo by Gary Dougherty

I always love the Lincoln Mile.  It's such a quick race that it's over before it really starts and is a big change from the longer races in which I've been competing lately.  It's a hard race to commit to running year after year as the summer tends to get crazy busy, but if that day is open I try to make it.  Having only run up to an 800 in high school and doing longer stuff (5k/10k) in college, I have never really had the chance to compete in the mile. This is the one race a year where the mile is the BIG event...not just an add on to a 5k where I'd be dodging kiddos for the first 200 meters.

The Lincoln Mile is run downtown on the UNL campus.  The race is divided into several heats (by age groups) which makes it easy to cheer for friends.  Due to construction last year, it was changed from a choppy out and back course to a loop.  The potential for fast times grew with this change.  The old course had you making six very sharp turns and it was hard to gain and re-gain momentum.  Philip and I were both signed up for this race and both had the same goal...to run a sub-6 mile.  I also had the goal of running a new PR; a 5:48 set in 2011.

Philip ran this race for the first time last year...and while I did as well, we weren't in the same heat so were able to bring Quinn with us.  This year, we'd be going at the same time.  The race also offers an 'elite' heat, but between the facts that it was one of the lasts heats to go (we were currently in heat 3) and the fact that I'm not really convinced that I'm that fast, I signed up for the age group competition.  Lots of other guys had this plan...it seemed like there were 20 guys that I knew were going to kick out extremely fast.  One of our friends even asked Philip, "If these guys are all running in this heat, who is going to be left for the elite race?"  It was a little over whelming starting behind all of those fast guys and trying to decide my pace compared to theirs.  Although I didn't have my watch on, they were shouting out times at the halfway point, and I was surprised to hear that my time was a 2:48 at that point....it seriously felt like I was majorly booking it.  I decided to pick up the pace.  The second half of the race went by very quickly as I tried to sprint in the final 400.  My final time ended up being 5:45.20...I was able to win both my heat and age group.  I must admit that I was slightly disappointed by this as my secret goal had been a 5:40.  Philip ended up meeting his goal, coming in at 5:58.  My good friend Jessica, who was racing her first mile ever (she's a great marathoner) finished in 6:28, placing second in our age group.

We ended up not sticking around for awards as the three of us had also planned that week's long run that morning.  Jessica is training for a half marathon this fall, so she had ten miles to get in, while Philip and I had 14.  We had debated back and forth whether we had to go 13--technically, with the mile race, we'd be going 14...BUT it wouldn't be consecutive.  We 10 out and back with Jess and then did 4 more for a total of 15.  It was 90 degrees when we finished.  Yikes.  No one said this was going to be easy OR pretty.

Great day to race, train, and be with people that make me really happy.  Thanks for being great, Philip and Jessica!! :)

Happy Running!

Complete results can be found here: http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_plain_text.php?race_id=41021