Records Fall as Blankenship and Anderson Win Minnesota Mile Titles: Updated with Official Times, Quotes

Two Gopher grads took the titles and set course records in the Minnesota Mile in Duluth on Sunday.  Ben Blankenship won the men's race in a record time of 3:52.7.  Team USA Minnesota's Gabriele Anderson won the women's race in 4:21.3. also an event record,  over teammate Heather Kampf, who ran 4:27.1.  The top six men and two women were under the course records.

Full results for the elite field are HERE.(Note that times are all rounded up according to USATF road running standards, while the times above are timed to the tenth of a second and not rounded up. USATF rounds up if the time is one tenth of a second over, i.e. Kampf's time rounded up is 4:28) Other race results can be found HERE.Duluth News Tribune story on Sally Kiptoo, the 2013 Grandma's Marathon champion, who finished tenth in the Minnesota Mile is HERE.

“It’s hard to know exactly where everyone is when running on the roads, but I realized nobody was going with me at about halfway thanks to some of the spectators on the course,” Anderson said.  “I was out a little faster than I expected to be at that point so from there I relaxed a little and tried to get ready for a strong last 400 to maintain the lead.

“It was definitely one of those special days where everything came together for a fast time.  I felt great out there and really wanted to get some redemption after a bummer of a race on Friday in Brussels where I fell.  I also wanted to take advantage of the conditions – a fairly nice tailwind – and the first half of the course being a generous downhill.  I wanted to take a shot at the course record but I didn’t expect to break it by as much as I did.”

Anderson not only had to overcome the field, but jet lag as she just returned from her second tour of Europe, where she raced in Belgium two days ago. “It was a long trip but it went pretty smoothly,” she said.  “I think it’s a lot easier to come this direction as opposed to going East.  My body felt like it was afternoon rather than morning, which is helpful for me because I am not a morning runner at all.”

At the IAAF Diamond League meet in Brussels on September 6, Anderson finished 12th in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:16.20 (her best time in the 1500m this season is 4:01.48).  “The race in Brussels was very disappointing because I felt really ready to run a great race,” she said.  “Unfortunately it turned out to be another tactical 1500m going out at a modest pace through 800m which caused an anxious bunched-up field.  At the bell it seemed like some contact between runners in front of me was causing problems but I thought I was okay in my spot.

“I was just waiting to make a move until the backstretch but that was too late.  Two runners went down right in front of me and I had nowhere to go but down.  Fortunately I wasn’t hurt and I was able to turn my frustration into motivation for today’s race in Duluth.”

Speaking of Europe, Nick Willis, the TC Mile champ finished fourth in 3:32.57 in the 1500 in Reiti, Italy in a swift race won in a time near Willis's PR(Kenya's Silas Kiplagat was first in 3:30.13). Willis regularly visits nearby Spoloto in the summer, and  "vacationed" there in August with his family.

In the 3K at Rieti, Garrett Heath finished eighth in 7:46.31.Full results of the meet are HERE.

Anderson’s final competition of the year will be in New York City where she will run the 5th Avenue Mile on September 22.  “One of the reasons I wanted to come and race today in Duluth was to get some practice running on the road before 5th Avenue,” she said.  “I’m excited to contend for the win in New York to cap off a great 2013 season.”