Jenny Simpson, 27, silver medalist for the United States in the 1500 meters at the recent World Track and Field Championships, separated herself from the pack on Sunday running up a slight incline in the second quarter mile of the Fifth Avenue Mile, passing the halfway mark in 2:14. Then she ran the last half even faster on the gradual downhill to win convincingly in a time of 4:19.3. It was the fourth fastest time in the history of the event and her second victory in the Fifth Avenue Mile in three years. Simpson’s fellow American Morgan Uceny finished second in 4:23.4, Susan Kuijken from Holland was third in 4:24.2, Kenyan Violah Lagat fourth in 4:25.1 and Italy’s Margherita Magnani fifth in 4:26.5.

In the men’s race New Zealand’s Nick Willis made a late break to win his second Fifth Avenue Mile in the last five years – with the next four finishers crossing the finish line within two-tenths of a second of each other! The leaders had passed three quarters of a mile in 2:57, but then Willis simply switched to another gear. The 30-year-old, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury for much of the outdoor season, was so dominant over the closing stretch of the race he actually urged the crowd to cheer with about 100 meters to go by waving his arm. After he crossed the line in 3:52.1, the next four runners would finish en masse in the following order – Bernard Lagat, 3:52.9, Garrett Heath, 3:53.0, Ryan Hill, also 3:53.0, and Will Leer, 3:53.1. In all, 16 men broke four minutes for the event! 

Comments

There were a lot of fast times at the Fifth Ave Mile on Sunday. 16 men broke four minutes on the road mile held in New York City. Many fast age-group times!!!
Bob Anderson 9/24/13 4:58 pm