Especially the high-school milers.

Most of the dogs and their owners (who were on Congress for the Mighty Texas Dog Walk) watched in awe as the high-school milers took center stage for the festival of mile races that started and finished on the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. The fastest high-schoolers came from all around the state to Austin for their chance with Congress Avenue. Many had been in town the week before for the State Championship so they were primed and ready to roll down Congress.

Except for one thing: The traditional north to south course starting on the Capitol steps was unavailable due to a conflict with the Paramount Theatre.

So RunTex race directors Paul Carrozza and Michelle Graham had to improvise and they came up with a loop course which started on the Ann Richards Bridge, took a short turn east on Cesar Chavez and then headed north for a quarter mile on Brazos. From there, it was a short stretch on 4th Street before turning onto Congress and heading south for the final half mile.

Clearly, the course wasn’t as fast as the almost entirely downhill Congress course (it was about 10-12 seconds slower) which has been used for years. There wasn’t nearly as much downhill on the ’08 course and the quarter-mile section on Brazos had a moderate incline which was the slowest portion of the race.

It didn’t seem to matter much to Colby Lowe, a senior at Southlake Carroll HS near Dallas, who won the state 1600-meter championship last week at UT in 4:06. Lowe and C.J. Brown, his teammate at Southlake, flew through the first quarter in 61 seconds. Brown took over the lead on the slowish Brazos portion (reaching the half in 2:11), but as they made the turn onto Congress for the final half mile, Blake Shaw came into the picture and blew past the Southlake teammates. Shaw of Cypress Falls HS in Houston is more of an 800-meter runner than miler (he was second in the 800 state champ last weekend in 1:52.17) and just wanted to stay close to the leaders so he could use his kick.

Nevertheless, Shaw pushed the pace as the three headed toward the finish on Congress, but he faded. Then, with about 200 meters to go, Lowe turned on the after burners and got his chest in front of Brown to win in 4:15.5. Brown was second 4:15.9 and Reed Connor of The Woodlands was third in 4:16.6 with Shaw fourth in 4:17.2. Rory Tunningley of Lockhart (who is going to UT) was fifth in 4:17.8

“This was so cool, ” said Lowe who will run cross-country for Oklahoma State in the fall. “This was my last race in high school so I didn’t want to have anything left. I wanted to race this as hard as I could. I mean, it was a hard race and kinda painful, but as a distance runner, we look for the pain. We aren’t afraid of that.”

Neither were the girls…er, women. This race matched up two-time state champ Kristie Krueger who was defending her Congress Avenue mile title against Julie Amthor. Krueger was second in the state championship mile last weekend, while Amthor was third in the 800-meter final in a PR of 2:11.

It was the classic matchup: Strength versus speed. Krueger certainly has the distance runner’s’s strength. A senior at Argyle HS near Dallas, Krueger was the most coveted distance runner in the state this year (second in the 1600 at states) and is ticketed to go to the University of Georgia on a scholarship. Amthor, a senior at Spring Branch Smithson Valley HS, just north of San Antonio has the wheels.

The two seniors rocketed north on Congress to Cesar Chavez in 66 seconds for the first quarter and, like everyone else, slowed on the grade up Brazos (reaching the half in 2:24).

“I just wanted to stay close to Kristie,” said Amthor. “I knew if I could, I could use my 800 power and hopefully, maybe get her at the end.”

Which is exactly what she did. Amthor was two strides better, winning in 4:54.4 to Krueger’s 4:55.8. Cate Westenhover of Austin (who is home schooled) was third in 4:59.5.

“I just got outkicked,” said Krueger who ran 4:46.8 last year. “Julie had the better leg speed than I did.”

Fastest mile of the day was turned in by 26-year-old Adam Davis. The former Rice star ran 4:14.3 to edge out Cesar Figueroa of Baytown in 4:17.9. Andrew Strong of Austin was third in 4:27. Collin Smith, 18 of Austin was fourth in 4:30. David O’Meara, a 45-year-from Sarasota, Florida, who is running 20 one-mile races in 20 cities in 20 weeks, was first master in 4:50.

The women were led by Emiliano Magullanez, a 15-year-old from Luling, who ran 5:03. Alicia Sankar, 42, was the first masters in 5:54.

See Slideshow here

2008 results (May 17, 2008)

• Congress Ave Mile – High School Elites
• Congress Avenue Mile
• Boys Team Results
• Girls Team Results

But here, in Austin, we have Congress Avenue. It’s the most well-known stretch of road in Texas and runners of various sizes and shapes came to town from all over the state on Saturday to put the pedal to the floor for bragging rights in the Congress Avenue Mile, sponsored by Mercedes, Puma and RunTex.

Road racers, cross-country runners, kids and their parents and even some elite milers tested themselves on the lightening fast, north to south Congress Mile track.

The course starts practically on the Capitol steps and plunges south to the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. But just because it’s a mostly downhill course doesn’t mean it’s a snap. It’s fast, but hardly an easy course.

“The trick is controlling your speed in the first quarter,” said Scott Hippensteel, the coach of Lockhart HS. “You have to go out under control almost all the way through the 800-meter mark before cutting it loose. If you go out even a little too fast, you’re going to find yourself in trouble.”

Nobody controlled their respective races—the elite boys and girls high school mile—better than C.J. Brown of Southlake Carroll and Kristie Krueger of Argyle HS in Dallas.

The top milers came from around the state, fresh off the State Meet and in peak condition. Still at the top of her game, Krueger, a 17-year-old junior, running her first Congress Avenue Mile. At States, she won the 1600 (4:57) and 3200 meters (10:41) which set state marks in each event.

On Saturday, she was clearly the favorite and didn’t disappoint. She blew through the half-mile mark in 2:20 and was able to hold on all the way to win in 4:46.08 overy Allison Pye in 4:47.38 and Erica Parker in third in 4:48.

“That’s a big-time PR for me,” said the excited Krueger. “I didn’t think I could run that fast, but I was just able to keep going. When I saw my split at halfway, I thought I had gone out way too fast. By the time I hit the flat part on the bridge, my legs felt like they were going to collapse.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she added, “so this was fun for me. The mile is just the right distance for me and to win a race like this in a 10-second PR is something I’ll always remember.”

Congress Avenue will certainly rank high in C.J. Brown’s memory banks too. The sophomore didn’t quite have the credentials Krueger had coming in—he was second in the State mile and sixth in the deuce—and admittedly had no idea how to run the downhill road course.

“I didn’t have any plan coming in,” said Brown who won in 4:07.63—a six-second PR. “I didn’t know what to expect so I just followed some of the guys who had run here before. Maybe next year I’ll know what to do.”

It looked like Brown was doing just fine. He went through the first 400 in 58 seconds, but Brian Downey of The Woodlands was in the lead. Brown was just a few strides back and then with 400 meters to go, he floored it and caught  Alex Neff on the bridge with 50 meters left to earn a very narrow win. Neff was second in 4:07.68 with Colby Lowe close behind in 4:08.54.

“I know this doesn’t count as a PR,” said Brown, “but it feels like one.”

There was even a sub-four minute sighting on Saturday morning. Joe Thorne, a UT miler who just finished his final season of eligibility for Jason Vigilante, busted up the elite division with a 3:59.16 to edge out Adam Davis of Houston by half a second. Cesar Figueroa of Baytown was third in 4:07.

In the women’s open, Jill O’Neal of Georgetown (4:58) beat comebacking Carmen Troncoso (5:08) who was pleased her first fast effort in several months. Troncoso, 48, was also the first women’s masters. Dee Giles was third in 5:18.

Among the age-groupers, Susan Walters of Wallis won the 40-44 in 5:40 and Rochelle WEbb earned the 50-54 title with a 6:44.

The men’s masters were led by 45-year-old Richard Mendez who ran a sparkling 4:35.26. Scott Birk earned another 40-44 victory with a 4:44.01, followed by Jesse Devyln in 4:51.1 (one of three Devlyns who earned miler’s medals) and Larry Bright was third in 4:55.46. Bright also placed second in the accompanying 5-K earlier in the morning.

Brian Smyth won the 50-54 in 5:02.71 with Jesus Montaya of Round Rock coming in second in 5:08.01. Tony Zapata was third in 5:25.

Wish paced the old guys (55-59) in 5:37 with Joe Bernald second in 5:55 and Sergio Madrigan third in 6:03. Jackson Battle won the…battle of really, really old guys (60-64) in 5:49 over Dick Wilkowski in 5:53.

View Slide Show

2007 results (May 19, 2007)

• Age Groups (All Divisions)
• Overall (All Divisions)
• Middle/High School Open
• High School Elite
• Elite Milers
• High School Elite Boys Teams
• High School Elite Girls Teams
• High School Open Teams
• Training Group Competition
• Searchable Results

Starting at the Capitol, the milers flew down Congress and despite humid conditions and a slight breeze in their face, PRs fell all morning long.
Leading the way, was Duncan Phillips of College Station. The junior, who won the state championship just a week ago, took the lead just past the half-mile mark (reached in 1:57) and was an easy winner in 4:06.7 over Dan Gerber in 4:09.8. Blake Shaw was third in 4:10.4. Phillips had such a lead that he was able to ease up coming across the flat section on the Congress bridge and enjoy the victory.

“This was really fun,” said Phillips who has a track best of 4:10. “I’ve never run a race like this before so it was really a good experience, coming so soon right after states.”

Loren Hodges, a senior from Paradise who is Baylor-bound, also won the state title, but she had a little more competition on Saturday morning. She was in a dog fight with Jillian Rosen all the way down Congress before winning by an eyelash in 4:49.9 to Rosen’s 4:50.5. Allison Pye was third in 4:53.6.

“Two girls went out so fast in the first quarter,” said Hodges, who set her mile PR of 4:53 at the Texas Relays, “that I decided to hang back a little. They went through in something like 60 seconds so I just stayed patient and caught them about halfway. From there, I was just trying to stay ahead of Jillian. This is a lot different than the track because none of us knew how to pace ourselves but it was very exciting to be part of this.”

In the open division, Bernard Manirakiza of Austin was an easy winner in 4:07.85 with Carl Stones, a sophomore from Round Rock (he won Chuy’s last Saturday) in second, in 4:26. Miles O’Neill, a 17-year-old, was third in 4:28.2.

“I needed some competition. I should have run in the high-school division,” Manirakiza joked afterward.

So should Ashley Isham. The 14-year-old phenom from Cedar Park was the overall women’s winner (if a 14-year-old counts as a woman) with a sparkling 4:59.7. Isham’s time would have placed in the top 15 among the top girls in Texas. Wait ‘til next year. Lea Schrader paced the masters women with a 5:46.

Other great age-group times were a 5:25 by another 14-year-old from Cedar Park—Amanda Russell—who took the 11-14 age group. Russell’s time would have won every female age group up to the 25-29 year olds. She’ll have plenty of competition in the next few years with Isham up in Cedar Park.

Among the old guys, former Russian stud Sergey Karasev was an easy winner in the masters with a 4:34 followed by the always tough Richard Mendez, 44, in 4:35 with Scott Birk third in 4:46. Mark Townsend, 50, in 4:59 eclipsed Bill Patience in 5:19 to win the really gold guys with Wish, 56, chugging home in 5:40 to win the really, really old guys. Jackson Battle, 60, won the ancients in 5:41.

Sitting this one out was His Excellency, The First Runner of Texas—Governor Rick Perry—who busied himself with taking photographs and greeting every runner to cross the finish line. The Gov who ran “in the neighborhood of 5:30” in ’04 (the last time the race was held) pledged to run the next Congress Mile.

Chances are it won’t be his last campaign promise.

Fox 7 filmed the race and will televise many of the heats next Saturday morning (May27th) at 11:30 a.m.

2006 results (May 20, 2006)

• Open Overall
• Open Age Groups
• High School Boys & Girls Overall
• High School Boys Teams
• High School Girls Teams
• Searchable

A record field of more than 1000 started the mile-long race from the steps of the Capitol, down Congress to the finish on the Congress Avenue Bridge. Even though a world-class field was missing, there were still some scintillating times.

Leading the way was Chris Dugan, a 25-yerar-old steeplechaser, who ran 4:17.8 to just edge out Barry Kahn by less than a half second to record the fastest time of the morning in the final heat. Dugan and Kahn were followed to the finish by two former UT runners; Steve Sisson in 4:24.5 and Donnie O’Neal two seconds later.

The fastest woman miler on the warm, humid morning was 22-year-old Nora Colligan with a time of 5:02.6. Colligan, who recently moved to town, ran in college for Northwestern University of the Big 10.

Top masters were Richard Mendez, 40, who ran a superb 4:33.1 and Cathy Smith who recorded a 5:17 mile to lead the women.

PRs were the order of the day for many of the milers/marathoners, but possibly the most outstanding time was by 90-year-old Jerzy Kuszakiewicz who turned in a 8:52 mile which is a world age group road record (although the record could not be confirmed).

Results

• Fall 2004 results
• Fall Race – Overall
• Fall Race – Searchable
• Fall Race – Age Group

With the weather setting the stage for a perfect race- mid 70s and a slight tailwind- a quartet of speedsters blasted off from the steps of the Capitol, blazing through the first quarter in 54-55 seconds. The pack was young and fast: Ndikumana, 24, Chis Dugan, 24, an 8:34 steeplechaser, Brian Rue, 25, a former UT track standout with a 1:48 800 meter best, and Jesus Torres, 22, a Mexican runner who took fifth at last month’s Scholtzsky’s Bun Run.

Lots of guys can blast a 55 second 400, but not many can hang on to that speed for a mile.

“I knew we had three guys capable of winning, and that drove the competition,” said race sponsor Paul Carrozza of RunTex. “It was anyone’s race. Jean Marie really showed his abilities, and I was so impressed with Dugan, a very tough steeplechaser.”

At about the halfway mark, (1:56), Dugan moved into the lead, but remained cautious.

“Right then, the pack was starting to break up a bit, and at three quarters (2:56) I knew I really had to push the pace so I wouldn’t get out-kicked,” he said. “I knew Jean Marie had good closing speed.”

Sure enough, just onto the Congress Avenue Bridge, Ndikumana passed Dugan hard on the right. “At that point my legs had a lot of lactic acid, and I couldn’t really match his move,” said Dugan. “He just kind of blew by.”

Ndikumana hit the tape in a 3:56.7, edging out Dugan’s 3:58.3, while Torres just nipped the four minute mark in 3:59.9 for third. Rue held on for fourth in 4:02.3.

“I was able to catch him by closing hard,” said Ndikumana “This was my first road mile, and of course my first time under 4:00. I’m still hoping to get on the Olympic 1,500 team for Burundi, my native country. “Right now I’ve got a 3:44 best, but I’ll need to get under 3:40 to make the team.”

The women’s elite race failed to materialize, with only Kira Jorgensen and Lori Stich-Zimmerman entered. The pair could not have been more different. Jorgensen, 32, of Seabrook, is a former national high school cross country champion, comfortable at distances of 5,000 meters or less, while Zimmerman, 33, is a tried-and-true marathoner, used to going long and easy. Jorgensen knocked out a 4:42, for the win, while Stich-Zimmerman, fresh off of a 2:38:44 15th place at the women’s Olympic marathon trials, clocked a 5:02.

Results

• Elite Men
• Elite Women
• Women 39 and Under
• Women Over 40
• Men 29 and Under
• Men Over 40
• Kids
• High School – Boys
• Photos – Kreutz Photography
• High School – Girls
• Men 30 to 39
• Invitational Masters Men
• RunTex Employees /Ex-Employees
• Baby Jogger
• Searchable with 1500m Split

While many races test your endurance, the mile is the combination of your endurance gained from all the miles and speed which is the fun part of running. As many coaches preach, speed is endurance.

The mile began with the open heat and weaved through the age groups to the elite heat at the end. As I watched the races from the rear view mirror of the beautiful Mercedes ML 320 which was provided by Mercedes Benz of Austin, I saw the same pattern, over and over.

The runner’s came off of the Capitol steps like a Skier out of the chute. The first quarter mile ranged from 52 second to 65 seconds for most runners. The next quarter mile, not quite as fast, but still a very pleasant, effortless experience. As the runner’s past 6th Street and made their way to the 3/4 mile mark, their world was changing. Time for the payback. Their times were starting to resemble their repeats on the track.

Their facial expressions changed as they saw their 3/4 mile time and saw the task ahead. The Bridge. As they say about paybacks, the final stretch lurking ahead. The race against the clock had just begun. Would they be able to keep any of the seconds they had put in the bank on the front half of the race or were they spent.

The last quarter mile, like the marathon’s last 10K, is the last half of the race.

Congrats to all those who took the plunge, you are a miler.

2001 results

• Elite Men – Splits
• Photos – Kreutz Photography
• Women’s Results
• Men’s 19 and under
• Men’s 20 to 39
• Men’s 40 to 49
• Men’s 50 and over
• Clydesdales
• Men’s Elite Race

The race was broken down into 13 heats, culminating with an elite men’s and women’s race. Along the way, some fairly spectacular times were posted. Runners began at the south steps of the capitol building and shot down hill to Congress Avenue, all the way to the far side of the bridge.

Trent Wallace, an Australian runner and UT San Antonio graduate, surprised the elite field by charging to the front of the pack and giving Unberhagen a run for his money through the first half, passed in 1:55. But then, in almost a carbon copy of last year’s elite race, Unberhagen, Eric Polonski, and Clint Hosey (all former Longhorns) moved into the top three positions. Fighting a slight head wind, Unberhagen led the trio to a one-two-three finish, just missing the sub-four mark with a solid 4:01. Polonski clocked 4:02, and Hosey a 4:10. “It was a lot windier this year,” said Unberhagen, who ran a 3:59 here last year. “But it was really close again, just like last year.”

Wustenhagen, who ran a 4:06 1,500 at the 1996 Olympics, was the lead runner for the women’s elites- a field consisting of only four. Desiree Owen put up a game fight, but was no match for the Olympian, who pulled to an early 15-yard lead on the small pack. Wustenhagen hit the first quarter in 62 seconds, but surrendered some time to the headwinds in the next three-quarters, ending up with a 4:41. Owen was second in 4:53. Dill waged a tough duel with Austin road racer Lynn Doelger, and ended up third in 5:11. Doelger posted 5:18 for fourth.

“I am living in Austin full-time now, training with Winthrop Graham (Olympic 400 hurdles silver medallist) as my coach,” said Wustenhagen. “I just love running in Austin. I’ll go to Germany for a few weeks this February for some track meets, and later to attempt to qualify for the German Olympic 1,500-meter team. But I plan on staying in Austin for all of my training.”

In boys high school action, 15 year old James Lovett scorched the field with a 4:30, with Seth James clocking a 4:33 for second. The boys’ 17-19 year old heat saw a whopping 32 runners come in under five minutes, with Ben Hooker leading the way in a sterling 4:19. Brian Wade, tying him for time, also clocked a 4:19. Appropriately named Kyle Swift posted a 4:20 for third.
Hays High School star Whitney Dill (16) opted to run in the elite field, leaving the girls high school heat wide open. Candice Kolb dominated that heat, posting a 5:20, ahead of Leah Smith’s 5:31. Interestingly, their times beat the girls 17-19 top two- Virginia Coindreau and Briana Caramango, who notched 5:29 and 6:02 respectively.

One of the more exciting races of the day was the women’s masters’ field. Donna Moore took an early lead, passing the halfway mark in a swift 2:28, and pulling Margo Braud along with her. But Braud took control just after the half, building an eight second gap by the time she hit the finish on the bridge- 5:23 to 5:32. Anne Flannagan held on for third in 5:48.

The mens’ masters’ field has always been a barn-burner at the Congress Avenue Mile, often featuring a dark horse from out of town. This year was no exception as Richard Christensen, a lean 44-year-old from Dallas, sprinted to an early lead. It’s easy to misjudge your pace on the long stretch of the Avenue though, and it looked like Round Rock’s Ray Joseph was going to reel him in as they hit the half in a speedy 2:04. But somehow Christensen dug down, and pulled off a 4:37 win over Joseph’s 4:41. The Heerwald- Milstead rivalry continued with Heerwald getting the better of his former college adversary, 4:48 to 4:53 for third and fourth.

1999 Results (December 19, 1999)

• 1999 results