American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
mile
The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...
and the
1500 metres
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...
. He was sponsored by
Hoka One One
Hoka One One (stylized as HOKA) is an athletic shoe company originating in Annecy, France that designs and markets running shoes. The brand first gained attention in the running industry by producing shoes with oversized outsoles, dubbed "maximal ...
and competed for the New Jersey New York Track Club before retiring from the sport in 2021.
Running career
High school
In 6th grade, Merber began sprint training with Charlie Bell, a local high school coach from New Jersey. He would practice sprinting with a bungee cord tied to him for strength development. Merber attended Half Hollow Hills West High School, where he competed in cross country and track. During high school he was successful in a wide range of events, posting personal bests of 1:53 in the
800 meters
The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since th ...
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where he specialized in the mile and 1500. At Columbia, Merber set the
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
indoor mile record when he finished in 3:58.52 at the 2010 Columbia Last Chance meet at the Armory. That summer, however, Merber stepped on a piece of glass during a training run near his home on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, which put him out of competition for a year. However, Merber had a resurgent senior year, and in May 2012, at the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet, he outkicked Nate Brannen to set an American collegiate 1500 meter record in 3:35.59. He graduated from Columbia in 2012.
The following school year, Merber enrolled in a masters program at the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, where he used his remaining year of NCAA eligibility resulting from his missed junior season at Columbia.
Professional
After graduating from UT in 2013, Merber joined the New Jersey*New York Track Club under coach Frank Gagliano. He is also sponsored by HOKA ONE ONE. He was a member of the United States'
distance medley relay The distance medley relay (DMR) is an athletic event in which four athletes compete as part of a relay. With its inclusion in the IAAF World Relays program, the IAAF announced on May 1, 2015 that the event would be an official world record event.
U ...
team which set the world record of 9:15.50 at the
2015 IAAF World Relays
The 2015 IAAF World Relays was the second edition of the biennial, global track and field relay competition between nations. As in the previous year, it was held in May in Nassau, Bahamas. Apart from contesting for the Golden Baton for the best t ...
in
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
.
Merber has been a resident of
Clinton, New Jersey
Clinton is a town in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It is located on the South Branch of the Raritan River in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town's population was 2,719,