2017 Festival of MilesMay 31, 2017 by Taylor Dutch
Reed Brown Aims To Capture The Sub-4 Magic At Festival Of Miles
Reed Brown Aims To Capture The Sub-4 Magic At Festival Of Miles
Two years ago, history was made at the Festival of Miles when Grant Fisher became the seventh high school athlete to break four minutes in the mile. Fisher utilized the strength of the professional field to carry out a time of 3:59.38 for third place.
Two years ago, history was made at the Festival of Miles when Grant Fisher became the seventh high school athlete to break four minutes in the mile. Fisher utilized the strength of the professional field to carry out a time of 3:59.38 for third place. This year, the tradition will continue in St. Louis with a similar professional field and the addition of Southlake Carroll senior Reed Brown.
Watch the Festival of Miles LIVE on FloTrack this Thursday
The University of Oregon signee is aiming to be the 10th high schooler to break the four-minute-mile barrier. Brown's season has been highlighted up to this point by a 4:03 mile at Texas Relays in March and a recent 4:02 1600m battle with Texas in-state rival Sam Worley. In that race, Worley out-leaned Brown with a winning time of 4:02.30 to beat Brown's 4:02.49. With just three seconds separating Brown from the coveted mile barrier and a perfectly paced race on deck in St. Louis, sub-four could be in his future.
The Festival of Miles pacer has been instructed to take the field through 800m in 1:56 with the goal of helping competitors achieve the U.S nationals "A" standard of 3:56.5. The Festival of Miles has hosted 19 sub-four-minute miles and this year's field includes four-time race champion and Olympic Trials finalist Jordan McNamara, Wisconsin All-American and 3:57 miler Morgan McDonald, and 1:43 800m specialist Abraham Kiplagat. As seen from Fisher's accomplishment two years ago, it's a perfect setting for Brown to become the 10th high schooler in history to run under four minutes.
Brown is not the only current high school athlete who is determined to break the mile barrier. Worley has run 4:00.61, Cooper Teare of Alameda, CA ran 4:00.16 at the Mt. SAC Relays, and David Principe Jr. of Johnston, RI ran 4:00.73 at the Prefontaine Classic. The last time a high schooler broke four minutes was in 2016 when Michael Slagowski ran 3:59 at Prefontaine. His performance marked the fourth sub-four run by a prep in the 2015-2016 calendar year.
1. 3:53.43 Alan Webb (2001)
2. 3:55.3h Jim Ryun (1965)
3. 3:57.81 Drew Hunter (2016)
4. 3:59.38 Matthew Maton (2015)
5. 3:59.38 Grant Fisher (2015)
6. 3:59.4h Tim Danielson (1966)
7. 3:59.53 Michael Slagowski (2016)
8. 3:59.71 Lukas Verzbicas (2011)
9. 3:59.8h Marty Liquori (1967)
The context of Fisher breaking four minutes can be traced back to the top college-level race he competed in leading up to Festival of Miles. In May 2015, Fisher ran 3:42 in the Payton Jordan 1500m which included All-Americans Peter Callahan, Blake Haney, Ben Saarel, and Jake Hurysz. Fisher's 3:42 would convert to a 3:59 mile. He carried the momentum to the Michigan state meet on May 30 where he ran a solo 4:00 1600m just five days prior to officially breaking four minutes in St. Louis. Fisher went on to run for Stanford in the fall of 2015 and has since earned three All-American honors.
Brown has executed a similar competitive build-up. In March, he competed in the invitational mile at Texas Relays, where he finished fourth to Worley (4:00), Alex Rogers of Texas (4:01), and two-time Olympian Leo Manzano (4:02). Five weeks and five victories later, Brown was pushed to another personal best in the 1600m dual with Worley at the Texas state meet. He also has the endurance strength to accompany him in this attempt. He won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships last fall and is a two-time Texas state champion over 3200m with a personal best of 8:50.
Although Fisher's and Brown's season bests are different by time comparison, both athletes were courageous enough to compete in races in which the talent was at a higher level. Their tenacity earned them faster times and, hopefully for Brown as well, a place in history as one of the few high schoolers to break four minutes in the mile.
Watch Brown run his attempt LIVE on FloTrack this Thursday, June 6.
Streaming: Only on FloTrack with a PRO subscription. A yearly PRO subscription provides access to ALL FloSports sites. JOIN NOW
Watch the Festival of Miles LIVE on FloTrack this Thursday
The University of Oregon signee is aiming to be the 10th high schooler to break the four-minute-mile barrier. Brown's season has been highlighted up to this point by a 4:03 mile at Texas Relays in March and a recent 4:02 1600m battle with Texas in-state rival Sam Worley. In that race, Worley out-leaned Brown with a winning time of 4:02.30 to beat Brown's 4:02.49. With just three seconds separating Brown from the coveted mile barrier and a perfectly paced race on deck in St. Louis, sub-four could be in his future.
The Festival of Miles pacer has been instructed to take the field through 800m in 1:56 with the goal of helping competitors achieve the U.S nationals "A" standard of 3:56.5. The Festival of Miles has hosted 19 sub-four-minute miles and this year's field includes four-time race champion and Olympic Trials finalist Jordan McNamara, Wisconsin All-American and 3:57 miler Morgan McDonald, and 1:43 800m specialist Abraham Kiplagat. As seen from Fisher's accomplishment two years ago, it's a perfect setting for Brown to become the 10th high schooler in history to run under four minutes.
Brown is not the only current high school athlete who is determined to break the mile barrier. Worley has run 4:00.61, Cooper Teare of Alameda, CA ran 4:00.16 at the Mt. SAC Relays, and David Principe Jr. of Johnston, RI ran 4:00.73 at the Prefontaine Classic. The last time a high schooler broke four minutes was in 2016 when Michael Slagowski ran 3:59 at Prefontaine. His performance marked the fourth sub-four run by a prep in the 2015-2016 calendar year.
1. 3:53.43 Alan Webb (2001)
2. 3:55.3h Jim Ryun (1965)
3. 3:57.81 Drew Hunter (2016)
4. 3:59.38 Matthew Maton (2015)
5. 3:59.38 Grant Fisher (2015)
6. 3:59.4h Tim Danielson (1966)
7. 3:59.53 Michael Slagowski (2016)
8. 3:59.71 Lukas Verzbicas (2011)
9. 3:59.8h Marty Liquori (1967)
The context of Fisher breaking four minutes can be traced back to the top college-level race he competed in leading up to Festival of Miles. In May 2015, Fisher ran 3:42 in the Payton Jordan 1500m which included All-Americans Peter Callahan, Blake Haney, Ben Saarel, and Jake Hurysz. Fisher's 3:42 would convert to a 3:59 mile. He carried the momentum to the Michigan state meet on May 30 where he ran a solo 4:00 1600m just five days prior to officially breaking four minutes in St. Louis. Fisher went on to run for Stanford in the fall of 2015 and has since earned three All-American honors.
Brown has executed a similar competitive build-up. In March, he competed in the invitational mile at Texas Relays, where he finished fourth to Worley (4:00), Alex Rogers of Texas (4:01), and two-time Olympian Leo Manzano (4:02). Five weeks and five victories later, Brown was pushed to another personal best in the 1600m dual with Worley at the Texas state meet. He also has the endurance strength to accompany him in this attempt. He won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships last fall and is a two-time Texas state champion over 3200m with a personal best of 8:50.
Although Fisher's and Brown's season bests are different by time comparison, both athletes were courageous enough to compete in races in which the talent was at a higher level. Their tenacity earned them faster times and, hopefully for Brown as well, a place in history as one of the few high schoolers to break four minutes in the mile.
Watch Brown run his attempt LIVE on FloTrack this Thursday, June 6.
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