2009 BAA Miles: Darren Brown Surprises, Anna Willard Confirims Again She's a Really Good Miler
April 19, 2009 By LetsRun.com *Photo Gallery
This year's Boston Marathon added a new twist, the BAA Road Mile the day before the Boston Marathon. We at LetsRun.com joked last night that they should just run four times around a square block for the road mile. When we showed up this morning, we were shocked to see that is what they were doing (well they actually only did 3 loops as that was what was needed for a full mile). So 3 loops, 12 near ninety degree turns and the same famed finish as the Boston Marathon makes for pretty interesting
racing.
On the men's side, Darren Brown, who last year broke four minutes to join his dad Barry and become the first US father-son sub 4 combo, was the surprise men's winner. Brown seemed almost shocked to come out the winner in the field (finish photo here) that featured Mexico's Pablo Solares, Irish Olympian Alistair Cragg, , US Olympian Ian Dobson, and US indoor champ Rob Myers.
Brown's story is a great one. He went to high school in Klein, Texas in the Houston area which was full of talent. His high school teammate
was eventual sub 4 minute miler Erik Stanley. His cross-town rival was high school star Steve Magness. Throw in about 4 more studs and you'll see why Brown wasn't even winning races in high school and never made the state meet. First up in college was Providence College where his teammate was Irish star Martin Fagan. He then transferred to Texas where NCAA champ Leo Manzano was his teammate. Brown got used to not winning anything, but said ultimately he wouldn't trade it for anything as it was
a valuable experience. After finishing up his eligibility last year, his coach Jason Vigilante (who Brown is a big fan of) suggested to Brown that he could not make at the next level, so they parted ways this year, and Brown's victory on Sunday was a true "Where Your Dreams Become Reality" win.
The women's field featured Boston's own Shalane Flanagan, the bronze medallist at 10k in the Olympics last year and US emerging star Anna Willard, the former American record holder in the steeple who is shifting her focus to the mile this year. If you had any doubt about Willard's transformation to the mile, get rid of it. She won the US indoor title earlier this year and easily dispatched of Flanagan on Sunday. Flanagan led from the gun, but Willard stalked her on the first two
loops on the course, and then pulled away on the final loop for the win.
BROWN AND WILLARD WIN INAUGURAL B.A.A. MILE
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
BOSTON (19-Apr) -- Darren Brown and Anna Willard won the elitedivisions of the inaugural B.A.A. Mile here today, thrilling a sizable
crowd which filled the Boston Marathon finish line bleachers on
Boyleston Street. The mile, which also had high school divisions, was
part of a new Sunday morning event program created by the Marathon's
organizer, the Boston Athletic Association, and also included a 5
kilometer run.
Brown did the best job of judging his effort for the unusual three-lap
race which was contested in cool but very windy conditions. After the
second lap, about 1100m into the race, 5000m Olympian Ian Dobson surged
to the lead. Brown was off of Dobson's shoulder, and Ireland's
Alistair Cragg and Providence's Patrick Tarpy were still in contention
at that point for the win.
"In front of the crowd you have to make a move," said the bearded Dobson.
Brown, who like his late father Barry Brown is sub-four minute miler,
waited until about 250 meters to go before taking the lead on the third
of the four turns on the course. He wasn't sure if his lead would
stick.
"I'm freaking out to where everybody is," he explained.
Making the final left-hand turn off of Exeter Street back on Boyleston
with about 100 meters to go, Brown had a three-step lead then broke the
finish tape about two strides ahead of the sprinting Dobson in 4:11.6
to Dobson's 4:12.1. Cragg was able to hold off a surging Rob Myers to
take third, six-tenths of a second behind Dobson.
"That was awesome," said a smiling Brown, who finished seventh in the
1500m at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships last year for the
University of Texas at Austin. "It was a lot of fun. It's different
from the track."
Willard's victory was less of a surprise. Drafting U.S. 5000m and
10,000m national record holder Shalane Flanagan for the first two laps,
the 2009 USA indoor 1500m champion was well-positioned to surge past
her Nike teammate in the final quarter to get the win. Knowing
Flanagan's capabilities, Willard said she wasn't sure she had the race
won until she hit the finish tape.
"I didn't really (know) until the end," she said. "I'm not a big fan of looking back."
Willard clocked 4:38.6 to Flanagan's 4:40.2, reasonable times given the
strong winds and the course's tight turns. Amy Mortimer, who was in
third place on the second lap, held her position to the finish and was
timed in 4:42-flat.
Both Brown and Willard earned $3000 in prize money.
The high school heats, which were sponsored by adidas and featured
athletes from the seven towns through which the Boston Marathon passes,
played out quite differently. In the girls race, Newton teammates
Margo Gillis and Carolyn Ranti finished 1-2, with Gillis leading from
gun to tape and winning by more than three seconds in 5:10.6.
"Everybody was cheering," said Gillis as she caught her breath after the race. "It was so cool."
The boy's race was much closer and featured several lead changes.
Boston's Omar Abdi and Ahmed Abdi took the field through the first
quarter in 68 seconds trailed by Brookline's Ryan Hardiman. But
Newton's Daniel Hamilton, who later said he didn't think he would even
finish in the top-5, was leading Abdi and Ali after the second lap with
Hardiman in fourth. Hardiman reserved his best stuff for the last 200
meters, and rounded the final turn with the race well in hand. He won
in 4:37.3, with Hamilton 7/10ths behind. Abdi got third.
"It was very cool," said Hardiman who was sporting a spiked-up Mohawk hairstyle. "The fans were amazing."
When asked whether he had gotten the Mohawk just for today's race he
said he had not. "I did it three weeks ago," he explained. He smiled
and added: "I think it's coming off today."
* * * * *
Triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker (14:29) of Maynard, Mass., and local road
racer Maria Varela (17:37) of Brighton, Mass., won the 5 km race which
kicked off the morning's racing program with 3524 finishers. Several
former Boston Marathon champions also took part, led by two-time (1979
and 1983) champion Joan Samuelson, 51, who finished fourth overall in
the women's race in 17:43. Ingrid Kristiansen, 53 (1986 and 1989
champion) clocked 22:32; Greg Meyer, 53 (1983) ran 20:59; Neil Cusack,
57 (1974) ran 27:00 and Lorraine Moller, 53 (1984) ran 26:59.
