The Fifth Avenue Mile is an annual
road race on
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The race begins at
80th Street and heads twenty blocks south to
60th Street. First held on September 26, 1981, the race is currently organized by
New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a non-profit running organization based in New York City whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by Ted Corbitt with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more ...
. The competition regularly attracts world-class runners, who compete in special heats after the regular age division heats. The Fifth Avenue Mile has also inspired similar events in the same mould, including the
Anlene Orchard Mile
The Anlene Orchard Mile is a sporting event exclusive to women held in Singapore where women either run or walk a mile (1.6 kilometres) on a straight course down Singapore's most famous and popular shopping street, Orchard Road. Just for the event ...
in Singapore.
The record performances of the race are
Sydney Maree's victory at the inaugural race in 3:47.52, and
Laura Muir
Laura Muir (born 9 May 1993) is a Scottish middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the 1500 metres, having previously finished seventh in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Muir won the bronze meda ...
's time of 4:14.8 set in 2022.
Jennifer Simpson
Jennifer Simpson (née Barringer; born August 23, 1986) is an American middle distance runner and steeplechaser. She represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics. She is a former American ...
of the United States has historically been the most successful athlete at the competition, having won 8 races. The winners at the most recent edition in 2022 were
Jake Wightman
Jake Wightman (born 11 July 1994) is a British middle-distance runner competing primarily in the 1500 metres. He won the gold medal at the 2022 World Championships, the first global gold in a middle distance event for a British male since Seb ...
and Laura Muir, a second consecutive 'Scottish double' after Wightman and
Jemma Reekie
Jemma Reekie (born 6 March 1998) is a Scottish middle-distance runner. She placed fourth in the 800 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, narrowly missing out on the bronze medal. Reekie achieved a rare double at the 2019 European U23 Championshi ...
won the event in 2021.
The Fifth Avenue Mile was originally held in late September or early October. In 2014 it was moved to mid September near
Patriot Day
In the United States, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year in memory of the people killed in the September 11 attacks of the year 2001.
History
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, carried out by terrorists from Al-Qaeda, Pre ...
. The race has been sponsored by
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
(1981),
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
(1986-1991),
Discover Card
Discover is a credit card brand issued primarily in the United States. It was introduced by Sears in 1985. When launched, Discover did not charge an annual fee and offered a higher-than-normal credit limit, features that were disruptive to the e ...
(1994-1996),
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
(1997-1998),
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continental started o ...
(2005-2010) and currently
New Balance
New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch ...
(since 2016).
Winners
Key:
See also
*
New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...
*
New York City Half Marathon
The New York City Half Marathon (branded as the United Airlines NYC Half) is an annual half marathon road running race from Brooklyn's Prospect Park to Manhattan's Central Park via the Manhattan Bridge, held since 2006. It passes through o ...
References
General
*Turner, Chris (2005-09-22)
Fifth Avenue Mile races back into the headlines IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
. Retrieved on 2009-09-27.
Specific
{{reflist
External links
New York Road Runners website*
Winners of the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile' at ''RunnersWeb.com'' (1981-2009)
Historical Fifth Avenue Mile articlesfrom ''New York Times''
__NOTOC__
Mile races
Recurring sporting events established in 1981
Road running competitions in the United States
Sports competitions in New York City