INDIANAPOLIS — From coast to coast and in between, Masters athletes converged on Indianapolis with extraordinary fitness to run the 2023 USATF Masters 1 Mile Championships. Jennifer Harvey (New York, New York), the 2023 Grand Blue Mile Masters Champion, went after the 55-59 American Record of 5:27. In a thrilling duel with rival Fiona Bayly (New York, New York), Harvey captured the Age Division crown, fourth place overall, and a new record of 5:25. Joyce Hodges-Hite (Atlanta, Georgia) was entering unknown territory. Undaunted, Hodges-Hite rambled through the mile in 15:27, establishing a new American Record in the 85-89 division. One of the most impressive performances of the day came from Jeannie Rice (Concord Township, Ohio). The 2019 USATF Masters Athlete of the Year is fresh off a 3:33:15 Boston Marathon at 75. While Rice can clearly run an incredibly fast Marathon, her mile is just as impressive. Rice ran 6:44 to take down the existing 75-79 American record by almost two minutes. She won her division, topped the age grading contest, and smashed the record. Mike Madsen (Flagstaff, Arizona), who missed the overall win by a fraction of a second at the 2019 Masters Mile, came back this year and took down the 4:40 American record for 50-54 with a sterling 4:38. Christian Cushing-Murray (Orange, California) a sub-4-minute miler and Olympic Trials finalist in the 1990’s, has maintained a top-flight training and racing regime well into his 50’s. Now 55, Cushing-Murray had his sights on breaking the current 55-59 record of 4:49. Mission accomplished, with two seconds to spare. Robert Qualls (Reno, Nevada), winner of the 70-74 10 km World Championship at Torun Poland this March, looked to improve on his 2022 second place effort at the 1 Mile Championships. This year Qualls left nothing to chance, going out strong in 2:42 at the halfway point, and holding on for a 5:33, dropping the American record by ten seconds. The hosts, Beyond Monumental, provided the perfect setting, the Monumental Mile, for record attempts and amazing competition with ages ranging from 40’s to 80’s. The course is flat, fast and record eligible. Athletes raved about the convenience of the entire setup, with the host hotel adjacent to Monument Circle, the staging area for the Mile, before and after!
WOMEN: Katie Sherron left nothing to chance, hitting the halfway point in 2:34. Her closest rivals, Perry Shoemaker and Hidi Gaff were 30 meters back. Sherron accelerated from there, more than doubling her lead, to take the win in 5:06. Shoemaker outlasted Gaff to take second in 5:20. Gaff, at 5:23, had a two-second margin over Harvey for the bronze medal. MEN: Jaret Herter, third overall last year, went out hard and dared everyone to go with him - only two did. Herter passed the halfway mark in 2:13.4, with Mark Guyer right on his heels at 2:14.1. Bryan Lindsay, the 2022 Masters 5 Km Champion, and a former NCAA 1500m silver medalist, was on Guyer’s shoulder at 2:14.6. When Lindsay kicked, Guyer tried to go with him, but could not. Herter held Lindsay at bay as long as he could. In the end, Lindsay had a strong win in 4:25. Herter claimed second in 4:30, with Guyer third in 4:33. Madsen was fourth in 4:38 with Chris Bielsa-Brown fifth at 4:41.
MEN: Dan King pulled off a surprising age grading win. Denied the win in 60-64 by 3 seconds, the 64-year old’s 5:09 graded at 93.62%, nipping Cushing-Murray, 55, whose 4:47 earned a 93.41. Qualls, the 70-74 record breaker, nabbed third at 93.18. Rick Lee and Madsen closed out the top 5. WOMEN: Rice’s 6:44 topped them all at 96.21%. Sabra Harvey, 74, enjoyed second place, as her 6:52 earned a 92.96. Lisa Veneziano, 58, clocked in at 5:36 for a 92.29. Harvey and Bayly, battling for the 55-59 win, finished fourth and fifth.
WOMEN: 40-44 Sherron 5:05 45-49 Euleen Josiah-Tanner 5:34 50-54 Shoemaker 5:19 55-59 Harvey 5:25 60-64 Suzanne La Burt 5:46 65-69 Carol Poenisch 7:13 70-74 Harvey 6:52 75-79 Rice 6:44 85-89 Hodges-Hite 15:28 MEN: 40-44 Lindsay 4:25 45-49 David Angell 4:41 50-54 Madsen 4:37 55-59 Cushing-Murray 4:46 60-64 Rick Lee 5:06 65-69 Fred Torneden 5:19 70-74 Qualls 5:34 75-79 Jim May 6:38 80-84 Doug Goodhue 7:28 85-89 Adrian Craven 11:31. TEAMS: Team championships are determined by adding up the times of the first three finishers on each team, low score wins. MEN: The ‘Home Team’ Indiana Elite Athletic Club A team took the win in 40+ by over a minute in 13:40. The Genesee Valley Harriers took top honors in M50+ at 15:40 and M70+ at 19:27, with the Shore AC out of New Jersey winning M60+ at 16:28 total. The Boulder Road Runners captured M70+ with 19:27. WOMEN: The Pursuit of Excellence Track Club won the 50+ division prize in 17:46. The Shore AC totaled 21:03 to take the W60+ win, and Oregon’s Team Red Lizard came in at 21:48 to win the 70+ team championship. Note: All records are based on chip time and are pending until ratified. Submitted By Paul Carlin Photo Credit: Terry Fletcher