DES MOINES, Iowa — National champions Sinclaire Johnson and Sam Prakel lead deep fields onto the streets of Des Moines on Tuesday evening, as top U.S. middle distance talent is ready to race at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships hosted by the Grand Blue Mile. The USATF 1 Mile Road Championships are the fifth stop on the 2023 USATF Running Circuit. Fans can tune in for the live broadcast beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on USATF.TV with a +PLUS subscription. The women’s race begins at 8:15 p.m. ET with the men following at 8:30 p.m. ET. Johnson leads the women’s field heading into Tuesday’s contest. Johnson, the reigning USATF Outdoor Champion in the 1500m, placed sixth in the 1500m at the World Championships in Eugene. Thus far in 2023, she won the 1500m at the Lilac Grand Prix in January and took home first in the 3000m at the BU Last Chance Indoor Qualifier in February. Two other finalists at the USATF Outdoor Championships in the 1500m are Nikki Hiltz and Helen Schlachtenhaufen. Hiltz is having another strong campaign in 2023. Hiltz won the USATF Indoor Championship title in the 1500m back in February, following that up with a winning 800m effort of 1:59.03 at the Bryan Clay Invitational earlier this month. They were tenth in the 1500m final at the USATF Outdoor Championships last summer. Schlachtenhaufen, who placed sixth in the 1500m final at the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships, has yet to open up her outdoor season. Indoors, Schlachtenhaufen ran 2:01.87 for 800m at the BU Last Chance Indoor Qualifier, as well as placing fifth in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games. 2016 Olympian Colleen Quigley is ready to race the roads of Des Moines. Quigley has raced sparingly over the past two years, but if healthy and in racing shape, can contest for a top five finish. She’s joined by NAIA star Addison Wiley. The 19-year-old placed fourth in the 1500m at the USATF Indoor Championships back in February and is coming off a 2022 season in which she won the USATF U20 Outdoor Championship 1500m title and placed fifth at the World Athletics U20 Championships. Two other runners to keep an eye on are Jenn Randall and Alli Cash. Both runners competed at the Oregon Relays presented by AthleticNET this past weekend. Randall beat a strong field in the mile, claiming victory, while Cash placed third in 4:36.33. Randall is the top returnee from the 2022 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships, having finished a half step behind race winner Emily Lipari. Alexina Teubel, Anna Connor, Emily Richards, and Katie Follett are also entered and capable of challenging for a top three finish. All four placed in the top ten at the 2022 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships, with Teubel placing third, Connor taking sixth, Richards seventh, and Follett tenth. Follett won the USATF title at the 2017 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships. Shannon Osika is also entered. The former University of Michigan standout took home runner-up at the 2021 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships. Similarly, Marisa Howard, who is competing Tuesday, took the runner-up spot at the 2020 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships. Young pros Ella Donaghu and Katie Camarena are two other standouts to watch. On the men’s side, Vincent Ciattei returns to Des Moines looking to defend his title at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships. In 2022, Ciattei outkicked the field in the final meters of the race, narrowly edging Paul Ryan for the win. Ciattei has only raced once so far in 2023, but his consistency throughout 2022 bodes well for a good performance on Tuesday. While Ciattei is the defending champion, Prakel enters as arguably the pre-race favorite. Prakel is having a terrific start to his 2023 season, with a double victory effort at the USATF Indoor Championships in the 1500m and 3000m back in February. In addition, he ran 3:51.25 in the mile at the BU Last Chance Indoor Qualifier and most recently split 3:59 in a 4xMile contest at the Oregon Relays. Prakel also finished eighth in the 1500m at the USATF Outdoor Championships last year. Isaac Basten, who placed took home second in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month, is ready to race the streets of Des Moines where he’ll run as a fan favorite as he finishes his senior campaign at Drake University. Basten placed tenth in the 1500m at the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships and enters Tuesday’s race with a 3:54.89 mile best from the BU Valentine Invitational this indoor season. Shane Streich placed third at the 2022 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships, finishing a second behind Ciattei’s winning effort and placing one spot ahead of Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy. The Atlanta Track Club standout ran well indoors this season, mostly testing his fitness over the 800m distance. David Ribich and Kasey Knevelbaard are two others set to challenge for a top three finish. Ribich and Knevelbaard earned fifth and sixth place finishes in the 1500m at the USATF Indoor Championships last month. Ribich also finished fifth in the 3000m event at the USATF Indoor Championships. Veterans Craig Nowak, Nick Randazzo, Michael Brannigan, Colin Abert, and Edward Crawford are other notable entries. On demand race videos, results, and post-race interviews will be available shortly after the race in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #USARC.
The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $25,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships. The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7 ,6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series. The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners. Contributed by Scott Bush