Aided by a slight tailwind, Jason Lunn and Nicole Jefferson sped to spectacular times in Saturday night’s Congress Avenue Mile, each missing by a scant two seconds a record that would have brought the reward of a 2003 Mercedes sports coupe. Lunn, of Redwood City, Calif., finished in 3:49:10 as 11 runners in the elite men’s field broke four minutes. The 6-foot-1-inch, 157-pound Lunn clocked the second-fastest time in the race’s history, slightly off Michail Bartoszak’s 1992 record of 3:47.26. He outlegged New Zealand’s Adrian Blincoe to the tape by .85 of a second.

“I felt really good,” said Lunn, 28, the 2002 USA Indoor mile champion. “I felt like if I just hung with them, and then put the hammer down, that would do it.”

In the women’s race, Jefferson — spurred on by a wildly cheering crowd — crossed the finish line in 4:26.85, just missing PattiSue Plumer’s record of 4:24.00, set in 1991. Jefferson, of Gunnison, Colo., finished ahead of Jill Snyder, a former Wake Forest standout who was timed in 4:28.15.

“I’m really more of a 5,000-meter runner,” Jefferson said, “so I was relying on my strength tonight. I used the slight uphill on the bridge to make my move. At that point, I just wanted to get across the bridge. It’s the fastest mile I’ve ever run . . . maybe the fastest I’ll ever run.”

“I hope (this race) sets the standard for future years,” race director Adam Dailey said. “I just wish we could of handed out those two Mercedes.”

Lunn and Jefferson each won $2,000 for their victories.

Sweeping down from the Capitol, the men’s field rocketed through the first quarter mile in a blazing 53 seconds. The group remained intact through the halfway mark, hitting it at 1:51 for an incredible 3:42-mile pace if it could be sustained.

At that point Lunn was last.

“There was a lot of jostling at the start,” he said. “People were out of control. When I hit the flat stretch after the first quarter, I just wanted to settle into 56-, 57-second quarter mile speed.”

Lunn briefly seized the lead at the three-quarter mile mark (2:51), heading a pack that was at least 12 strong.

“I was surprised to see the whole group still together with only a quarter to go,” Blincoe said.

Blincoe moved ahead at the Congress Avenue Bridge, as the pack flew down the final straightaway. But Blincoe had moved too early, and was swallowed up.

“I misjudged where the finish line actually was,” he said. “But I didn’t come here tonight to finish fifth, so I moved ahead again.”

Blincoe regained the lead with a scant 200 meters to go. But Lunn, one of the best kickers in the sport, suddenly bolted to the front, capturing the lead with 100 meters to go. In the woman’s race, Mardrea Hyman, a former All-America 800-meter runner for the University of Texas, blasted through the first quarter in 59 seconds and retained the lead at the halfway mark.

But Hyman began to fade at the bridge, just as Jefferson picked up the pace.

2003 results (March 22, 2003)

• Elite Men
• Elite Women
• Women Under 40
• Women Over 40
• Men Under 40
• Men Over 40
• Clydesdale
• Wheelchairs
• Kids
• High School
• Elite Men – Splits
• Elite Women – Splits
• Age Group – Splits
• High School/Kids Splits

PUBLICATION: Austin American-Statesman (TX)
SECTION: Sports