Reekie, Langon win 45th New Balance 5th Avenue Mile
Women's event record by Reekie; #2 men's FAM time by Langon; record 27 men sub-4; $34,000 prize purse awarded
From NYRR with BBTM support
NEW YORK – New York Road Runners (NYRR) hosted more than 8,700 athletes at the 2026 New Balance 5th Avenue Mile, the world’s most iconic and largest road Mile race on Sunday. The 45th edition of the race featured 30 heats of Mile races with athletes of all ages and abilities running 20 blocks down Manhattan’s famed 5th Avenue.
The professional athlete races closed out the day, with Jemma Reekie of Scotland setting a women’s event record, and American Marco Langon breaking the tape in the second-fastest time in event history.
In the women’s race, Reekie, 28, returned to the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile after a two-year hiatus and outpaced Americans Josette Andrews and Rachel McArthur to win her third title (also 201 & 2023)—the second most by any woman in event history—clocking an event record of 4:13.8. Just one week after setting the European road Mile record in Düsseldorf, Germany, Reekie broke the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile record by one second (previous record, 4:14.8, Laura Muir (GBR), 2022, and Karissa Schweizer (USA), 2024), while Andrews finished second in 4:16.1, followed by McArthur in 4:17.7.
“[The 5th Avenue Mile] is a blur [because] it goes by so quickly, but I absolutely love it,” said Reekie after the race.” “It’s such a special race and [was] my last one of the season, so I don’t think there’s a better place to finish.”
On the men’s side, New Jersey native Langon—in his New York Road Runners and American road race debut—edged out Jake Heyward of Wales and Adam Spencer of Australia by less than a second to secure his first New Balance 5th Avenue Mile victory. Langon outkicked the pack late to cross the line in 3:45.0, the second-fastest men’s time in event history time behind Josh Kerr’s 3:44.3 record from 2024. Just like Reekie, Langon, just 22, secured his second victory in as many weeks after winning in Düsseldorf last week. Both Heyward and Spencer clocked 3:45.8, producing the third and fourth fastest times in event history, with the former taking second by a razor-thin margin.
“I’m from [New] Jersey, so I’ve been here all my life, and everyone knows what the 5th Avenue Mile is. Whether you run or don’t run [you know] this weekend 5th Avenue next to Central Park is going to be shut down for the whole morning, so it’s unbelievable to be here racing,” said Langon, a recent Villanova grad.
Each race champion took home $5000 for their wins, and overall, the event awarded $34,000.
In addition, 27 men went sub-4 (record, road or track; previous record, 23, 2025 FAM), 10 men sub-3:50 (tied road record, 2025 FAM) and 18 women sub-4:30 (tie, second most ever, road or track, with 2022 FAM). The world’s largest road Mile also had 8,206 finishers.
The world class professional athlete fields were headlined by 14 Olympians and 18 international medalists representing 12 different countries across a variety of distances, including the 800 meters, 1500 meters, 3000m steeplechase, 5000 meters and 10,000 meters.
NYRR ROAD MILE CHAMPIONSHIP
In heats featuring fields of local elite runners, the NYRR Road Mile Championships were won by Alana Levy and Braden Nicholson. Levy, representing Brooklyn Track Club won the women’s race in 4:37.9, while Nicholson, of Boulder, Colorado, broke the men’s tape in 3:57.9.
ADDITIONAL SPECIALTY HEATS
The shortest race distance offered by New York Road Runners, the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile is an accessible event for both beginners and seasoned athletes. In addition to the professional athlete races and Broadway Mile, other specialty heats included the Back to School Mile—one of more than 20 free Rising New York Road Runners youth events produced by the nonprofit each year—for kids ages 2–18 to start the school year strong; the George Sheehan Memorial Mile for older adults; an NYPD and FDNY heat for service members; the Media Mile for journalists; and the NYRR Unlock 26.2 x New Balance heat for participants of the dedicated TCS New York City Marathon training program.
Broadway Milers raised a record-setting $30,000—double last year’s amount—to provide nearly 12,000 meals to those in need. Fundraising efforts were led by top team fundraiser “The Book of Mormon” and top individual fundraiser Ethan Popp of “The Lost Boys.” During the first two years of the Broadway Mile, the running and theater communities have collaborated to raise more than $45,000 for Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS.
Complete race results: https://results.nyrr.org/event/26FAM/customStatistics
CREDIT: NYRR
