Press Release

Press Release: Final Fields set for 2015 Sir Walter Miler

Sir Walter Running

Final Fields set for 2015 Sir Walter Miler

August 5, 2014 – Raleigh, NC – The fields are set for the 2015 Sir Walter Miler, which takes place this Friday night, August 7th, at the Meredith College Track. The event includes three mile races, a run club mile relay, and a pre and post party at Raleigh Brewing Company, with live music, food trucks, and six breweries participating in a family friendly, free to the public event. The event is being sponsored by Great Outdoor Provision Co., Busy Bee Café, ElliptiGO, Stiner Massage, and NC USATF. The event has prize money of up to $6300 for the athletes competing. Fans will once again be allowed to line the track for the elite Mens and Womens races to get an up close feel. The event will also be broadcast live on FloTrack.org

Last August, Raleigh saw something it had not seen in 40 years; a sub four minute mile. Nearly 1000 people lined the track and witnessed not one, but three men dip under the hallowed barrier. New Jersey-New York Track Club’s Ford Palmer led the way in 3:57.61, with Donnie Cowart (3:58.43) and Isaac Presson (3:59.77) close behind. Palmer’s mark was just off Ken Popejoy’s state record of 3:57.3, set on May 12, 1973.

After the 2014 Sir Walter Miler, LetsRun.com, said of the event: “Meet organizers of America, take note: this is how you put on a professional track meet.” Winner of the race, Ford Palmer, soon got a major shoe deal with Hoka One One, after his win. “It was almost a carnival on the college campus, everyone went to the race, cheered their butts off, and went back to the brewery afterwards. It was the best event I have ever been to as a track athlete,” said Palmer.

Building on the success of the 2014 event, the Sir Walter Miler has expanded its elite fields in 2015, which include past Olympian Morgan Uceny, 2015 World Championship competitors Steph Garcia and Robby Andrews, as well as returning 2014 champions, Palmer and See. Added this year is the $250 ‘Stiner State Record Bonus’ (presented by Stiner Massage), for breaking the existing outdoor state records, and a $100 bonus to any athlete breaking the 4:00 (male) or 4:30 (female) barrier for the first time. CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson will be the live announcer for the races. Rhodes Race Timing will provide live timing for the event.

The 2015 Men’s race will feature a one of kind “North Carolina vs. The USA” mile, where top athletes from North Carolina will square off against some the best athletes in the nation. Team NC will be distinguishable by special North Carolina flag shorts, with the Hayes Barton Cup going to the team with the lowest scoring places (top 4) in a cross country-style scored race.

Fans will have a chance to run and interact with this years fields, as well as compete. The ticketed pre-race ‘Eat with the Pros’ dinner will be on Thursday, August 6th at the Busy Bee Cafe. Fans will be able to enjoy the company of the competitors on the eve of the event, as well as indulge an excellent meal and beverage, provided by Trophy Brewing. The inaugural ‘Running Store/Local Co. Battle’ Mile will kick off Friday’s events. The ‘Sir Walter Miler VIP Experience’ will allow fans to get one step closer. Great Outdoor Provision Co. and Sir Walter Running will provide a one of a kind swag bag (shirt, mug, goodies) and VIP lanyard , with finish line viewing, and an up close and personal look at the athletes post-race, as they give their interviews to FloTrack in the mixed zone. The free ‘Run with the Pros’ event will be held at 8am on Saturday, August 8th, at the Harrison Avenue entrance of Umstead Park. Fans are invited to come run 4+ miles with the athletes, and will be treated to coffee and bagels afterwards, and an opportunity to try out an ElliptiGO. Also, on race day, Arrow Haircuts (& Pedro Williams) will provide complimentary cuts to all elite athletes competing.

The pre and post party at Raleigh Brewing Company will feature live music from Better Off Dead’s Brant Kay, a local Grateful Dead cover band. He’ll start at 7:15pm and will play a second set around 10pm, after the races at Meredith are complete. They’ll be joined at Raleigh Brewing by a mini Food Truck Rodeo that will include Hanu Truck (Asian) and Cockadoodlemoo (Gourmet Sandwiches).

Part of the festival atmosphere of the evening will be the “Interval Sessions” beers donated by six breweries to raise money for the Umstead Coalition; with 100% of proceeds going towards trail maintenance and potential new bridge construction. Submissions are ‘Speedwork Session’ IPA (Raleigh Brewing), ‘Turkey Creek’ Citra Saison (Trophy Brewing), ‘Scratch n Sniff’ All Brett IPA (Unknown Brewing), ‘The Show Gose On’ (Small Batch Beer Co.), ‘Angry Angel’ Wet Hopped Cask (with hops grown at Big Boss), and an unnamed Asheville brewery that comes with high regard.

Parking for the event will be available at Raleigh Brewing Company, as well as the Faircloth Street  entrance lot of Meredith College. Spectators are encouraged to use Taxi Taxi to get to and from the event. A promotional code SIRWALTER is available for new Taxi Taxi App users to get $10 off their first ride.

The Sir Walter Miler is presented by Sir Walter Running; a local group composed of Sandy Roberts, Logan Roberts, and Pat Price. They also promoted the 2015 Pop Up Miles series in Raleigh. Jeff Caron also helped with the coordination of the Women’s Elite field, and NC State Track and Field’s Assistant Director of Operations, Greg Dame, helps with track logistics.

Full fields and schedule are below:

8:30pm – Running Store Battle

8:40pm – Run Club Mile Relay

9:05pm – Women’s Elite Mile

9:15pm – Men’s Elite Mile

Team North Carolina

  • Jack Bolas – NJ-NY Track Club (Chapel Hill High grad – 3:53.5 Road)
  • Donnie Cowart – Saucony (Winston-Salem-based – 3:58.43)
  • Kyle Graves (Wake Forest grad – 4:00.39)
  • Brandon Hudgins – Loaded Anarchy (Boone-based – 4:01.64)
  • Jake Hurysz (Eastern Alamance High grad – 3:58:13)
  • Isaac Presson –  (Asheville High, UNC grad – 3:58.67)
  • Joe Stilin – Reebok/Zap Fitness (Blowing Rock-based – 3:58.66)
  • John Simons (pacer) – Reebok/Zap Fitness (Blowing Rock-based – 3:59.32)

Team USA

For more information, visit SirWalterMiler.com | Contact Pat Price | sirwalterrunning@gmail.com | 919.260.8013 for requests

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