Bolas, Kampf Defend Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour Titles
Grand prix tour with 4 stops awarded more than $80,000 plus $7500 GP purse; Running Warehouse’s “Pick-the-Winner” contest engaged Mile fans at every event for second edition
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Jack Bolas and Heather Kampf defended their Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour titles with 16 and 26 points, respectively, and each GP champion earned $2000. BBTM, launched in January 2012, is a national campaign to elevate and celebrate the storied distance. The second Tour edition opened January 31 at the Camel City Indoor Mile, part of the Hilton Garden Innvitational track meet in Winston-Salem, N.C. and the finale was again hosted by the Minnesota Mile on Sunday, September 13 in Duluth, Minn.
“We heartily congratulate Jack Bolas and Heather Kampf as the BBTM Tour Grand Prix Tour 2015 champions, and this year’s Tour produced great performances and thrilling races as well as event and state records,” said BBTM Founder Ryan Lamppa. “For our Tour 2015, we thank and salute the athletes, the events and our sponsor Running Warehouse for elevating and celebrating the Mile.”
BBTM GP Tour 2015 champions and highlights:
3rd Camel City Elite Mile
Winston-Salem, NC, Saturday, January 31
Cory Leslie (USA / SC), 3:56.99, event record, North Carolina State indoor record and absolute state record
Shannon Rowbury (USA / OR), 4:22.66, event record, North Carolina State indoor record and absolute state record
10th Medtronic TC 1 Mile: USA Championship
Minneapolis, MN, Thursday, May 14
Garrett Heath (USA / WA), 4:09
Heather Kampf (USA / MN), 4:46
4th GNC Live Well Liberty Mile
Pittsburgh, PA, Friday, July 31
Jordan McNamara (USA / OR), 3:59, tied event record
Heather Kampf (USA / MN), 4:33, clinched BBTM GP Tour title
9th Minnesota Mile
Duluth, MN, Sunday September 13
Jack Bolas (USA / NJ), 4:07
Gabriele Gruenwald (USA / MN), 4:38
The total prize purse for the Tour events exceeded $80,000 plus $7500 for the Grand Prix purse. Per Tour event per gender, the top 6 scored points (10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1) with the top 4 Grand Prix scorers earning GP money ($2000, $1000, $500 and $250).
BBTM GP Tour 2015 Final Standings
MEN
1) Jack Bolas (NJ), 16 points, $2000
2) Jeff See (SC), 12 points, $1000
3) Cory Leslie (SC), 10 points, $250
3) Garrett Heath (WA), 10 points, $250
3) Jordan McNamara (OR), 10 points, $250
WOMEN
1) Heather Kampf (MN), 26 points, $2000
2) Gabriele Grunewald (MN), 18 points, $1000
3) Shannon Rowbury (OR), 10 points, $500
4) Morgan Uceny (MA), 8 points, $85
4) Rebecca Addison (MI), 8 points, $85
4) Monicah Ngige (KEN), 8 points, $85
The Running Warehouse “Pick-the-Winner” online contest again offered unique fan engagement at each Tour stop. HOW IT WORKED: the person who picked the men’s or women’s winner at a Tour event had their name put into a random drawing for a pair of shoes from the Running Warehouse. In addition, BBTM gear was awarded to those “Pick-the-Winner” entrants who were the closest to the winning times at each Tour event.
Visit bringbackthemile.com/tour or contact media@bringbackthemile.com for more BBTM Grand Prix Tour news.
About Bring Back the Mile
The Mile holds a special place in Track & Field and beyond because no running distance, or field event for that matter, has the history, the appeal, the “magic” of the Mile. The first sub-4 minute Mile by Great Britain’s Roger Bannister in 1954 is regarded as the greatest individual athletic achievement of the 20th century (see Forbes November 18, 2005 article HERE), and no other event has produced an equivalent of the captivating sub-4 minute Mile standard in the sport, in the media and in the public’s mind.
The Bring Back the Mile mission is: To return the Mile to prominence on the sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a national movement.
