Press Release: Sir Walter Miler back for 2017 with Summer and new Fall Series added
April 8, 2017 – Raleigh, North Carolina – The Sir Walter Miler will return for its fourth consecutive Summer to its standard first Friday night spot on August 4, 2017 at the Meredith College Track. The event will feature elite Men’s and Women’s Mile races, a Run Club Mile Relay, as well as another race to be named later. The event is free and open to the public. The event will again be broadcast live internationally on FloTrack.org
The 2016 Sir Walter Miler was the biggest, and fastest to date, as Lauren Johnson won the Women’s race in 4:25.04, Kyle Merber won the Men’s race in 3:54.57, and Mikey Brannigan set a T20 World Record in 3:57.58, becoming the first para-athlete to ever run under 4 minutes in the mile. Brannigan went on to win the Gold Medal in the 1500 meters at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. All told, 6 Women ran under 4:30 and 9 Men ran under 4:00.
2017 will bring back the “Pop Up Miles” Track Series to Tuesday nights in June. The series will start Tuesday, June 6th and will run every Tuesday of June; climaxing with the Championship Miles on Tuesday June 27th. The Top 10 Men and Top 10 Women with the best mile times over the course of the month will square off for a spot in the Sir Walter Miler elite race. Each week will will have a bonus event and a bonus relay, with week one featuring the 5k and a 4×400 relay. More information is available at http://PopUpMiles.com To find up where the Pop Up Miles will be, sign up for the email list.
To help Pop Up Miles competitors run their best mile, Sir Walter Running has partnered with 2016 Olympic 1500 meters Bronze Medalist, Nick Willis’ Miler Method. Miler Method will host a “miler” Boot Camp from April 24 – June 4, which will provide training plans and daily access to Willis. For more information, and to sign up for the program, visit: http://milermethod.com If 25 people sign up, Willis will be joining us at the June 6th Pop Up Miles event for a “Night of PR’s.”
After an exciting inaugural race in 2016, the Raleigh RunDown Downhill Mile returns for 2017 on Friday night, June 16th. The course starts atop Centennial Parkway and features a 100+ foot drop in elevation from start to finish. The event is the fastest mile in North Carolina, and possibly the East Coast. Last year, 3 Men ran sub-4:00, 32 men ran sub-5:00. 4 Women ran sub-5:00 and 29 Women went sub-6:00. The event will again feature a Men’s Competitive Race and a Women’s Competitive Race. Awards will be provided by Runologie, and the post-race party will be held at Trophy Brewing Co. on Maywood Avenue. Registration is now open and more information can be found at http://RaleighRunDown.com
New for 2017 is the Pop Up Cross Country Series, which will take place on Tuesday nights in October. The series will offer four weeks of Cross Country racing over various distances, at different settings throughout Raleigh conducive to cross country racing. Look for more information at http://PopUpXC.com
Sir Walter Running will once again be offering an internship. The 2017 Interns will help plan the 2017 Sir Walter Miler, Pop Up Miles series, Raleigh RunDown Downhill Mile, and the Pop Up Cross Country series. More details are available here: http://sirwaltermiler.com/internship/
The 2017 “State Capitol” logo was created by Raleigh’s Brent Francese. Follow the Sir Walter Miler on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more updates. The Sir Walter Miler is promoted by Sir Walter Running. For the full schedule of 2017 events, download the 2017 Series Poster here. To watch the 2017 Promo video, click here.
For more information, sponsorship information, or interview requests, contact Pat Price for Singlet Public Relations at sirwalterrunning@gmail.com and 919.260.8013