Mile News


Going the distance

May 26, 2013

Bring Back the Mile national campaign seeks to elevate and celebrate the iconic distance

By Caroline Dohack, Columbia Daily Tribune

If Romeo and Juliet had been running partners instead of star-crossed lovers, our girl might have said to her beau, "What's in a name? That which we call a Mile runs just the same as 1600 meters."

That might be so, but Ryan Lamppa, founder of the Bring Back the Mile campaign, would rather see more race organizers do away with the 1600 — "It's a misfit distance," he declares — and embrace the Mile.

I admit that when this campaign first blipped onto my radar, I thought it was a lot of excitement over nothing. There are so many other things to obsess over when it comes to running that terminology doesn't seem like it should be high on the list. But, Lamppa makes a compelling case for what he refers to as America's distance.

After all, he said, most Americans are at best only loosely acquainted with the metric system, despite past efforts to convert. For runners, this is an especially interesting issue, as many still think in miles even as they train for an event measured in meters or kilometers.

"You will never hear someone ask, 'What is your 1600 meter pace?' " Lamppa said.

And so the Bring Back the Mile campaign's immediate goal, which is to replace the 1600 with the Mile at high school track meets, makes sense. If more people understand the distance being run, Lamppa said, there might be a boost in track-meet attendance, which currently isn't so great.

Continue reading at: www.columbiatribune.com

Tags: ryan lamppa (110) , bbtm news (207)

Facebook Comments

Return the Mile to prominence on the American & worldwide sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a movement.

ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.

CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.

NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance,
to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.

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