Since the Bring Back the Mile launch in January 2012, the Mile's profile & footprint have increased along with event prize money and the number of American men & women breaking for the first time the recognized benchmarks: Sub-4 & Sub-4:30. The interactive charts below reflect this: The BBTM Effect.

CHART 1 note:
In 2019, there were at least 28 competitive inaugural Mile races, awarding more than $35,000 in new prize money led by the Virginia Mason Memorial Downtown Yakima Mile ($30,400).

For the first year since BBTM’s launch, Mile event prize money declined year-to-year because four races with $105,000 combined purses in 2018 – Medtronic TC 1 Mile, Minnesota Mile, Brooks Beasts Desert Throwdown and Mitchell Street Mile – either did not offer prize money (first two) or were cancelled (last two). Overall, prize money decreased from a record $678,020 in 2018 to $623,850 in 2019 (down 8%). Moreover, since 2012, prize money at Mile events has grown by more than $485,000 or 350%.

CHART 2 note:
In 2019, 23 U.S. men ran their first sub-4 minute Mile on the track, and as a result, for the 14th straight year, the first sub-4 U.S. annual number again reached double digits with an average of 23 first-timers in the past 8 years compared to only 7 per year from 1957-2011, while three U.S. women recorded their first sub-4:30 track Mile, and since 2012, first-time U.S. women to this select club have averaged 6 per year compared to only 1 per year from 1975-2011.

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SOURCE: Bring Back the Mile

Back to History page HERE.