by Evan Hatton
The Liberty Mile came to Pittsburgh in 2012, with PA native Craig Miller taking the first win in 3:58.4. Since 2012, the event has grown to become one of the largest road races in Pittsburgh, drawing over 1500 participants this year.
The highlight of the event is always the American Developmental elite race at the end of the night. This year’s field featured defending champion Jordan McNamara of the Oregon Track Club as well as some of his teammates at OTC, Mac Fleet and Pat Casey. Also hitting the roads were several recent graduates of Oregon, including Daniel Winn and Colby Alexander, who was sporting his “Me” singlet.
Picture from Daniel Winn’s instagram @danielwinnn
The race went out very fast, as it usually does, with Daniel Winn surging to the lead. According to several accounts of the race that I have read, the first 400 was right around 55. A much more tactical second quarter brought the pack through 800 in 1:59. Jake Edwards of Brooks took the lead right before 800 in an attempt to break the race open. Edwards maintained his lead until roughly 500 to go, when his Brooks teammate Lex Williams made his bid for the win. Mac Fleet made his move, bring teammate Jordan McNamara along with him, ultimately unable to hold off McNamara who took the win in 3:58.50 to Fleet’s 3:58.93. Jack Bolas of NJNY took third in 3:59.1. Jeff See and Colby Alexander rounded out the top 5, running 3:59.3 and 3:59.6
This year’s running was by far the deepest race ever run on the streets of Pittsburgh, with five men ultimately running under 4:00. In fact, the top 8 men all ran faster than McNamara ran to win in 2014.
The women’s elite race featured Heather Kampf taking down Gabriele Grunewald, 4:32 to 4:34.
Several current and former PA athletes participated in the “Unstoppable” mile. The dominant Dom Peretta (new nickname? I think yes.) took 6th in 4:25. Cordon Luoco, formerly of North Allegheny, and Jacob Stupak, currently of North Allegheny, took 7th and 8th, running 4:28 and 4:30 respectively.
The Liberty Mile is an awesome change of pace for runners used to running the 5k, 10k or half marathon distance on the road. The race has only been gaining recognition throughout the years and will continue to grow and get faster in years to come.
Thanks for reading!
Has Heather Kampf ever lost a road mile?
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