The Wanamaker Mile is an indoor mile race held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City's Madison Square Garden.
The event was first held in 1908, and in 1926 became known as the "Wanamaker." It is named in honor of the head of the Wanamaker's Department Store in New York City, Rodman Wanamaker. The race was held every year at 10:00 p.m. This was a tradition started by the legendary sports announcer Ted Husing. Husing would broadcast the race live during the nightly news. In 2002, the mile was moved to 9 p.m. to accommodate television coverage.
The race is also a tradition for Irish runners. Past Irish winners include Ronnie Delaney (1956-1959), Eamonn Coghlan (1977, '79-'81, '83, '85 and '87), Marcus O'Sullivan (1986, '88-'90, 1992 and 1996) and Niall Bruton (1994).
It was at the Millrose Games where Coghlan earned the nickname, "Chairman of the Boards" (because the surface of the track was made of wooden boards). In addition O'Sullivan has run 11 sub-four-minute miles in the Wanamaker.
In 2010, Bernard Lagat surpassed Eamonn Coghlan's record of seven Wanamaker Mile victories with a record eighth victory.
Famous quotes containing the word mile:
“It was a tangled and perplexing thicket, through which we stumbled and threaded our way, and when we had finished a mile of it, our starting-point seemed far away. We were glad that we had not got to walk to Bangor along the banks of this river, which would be a journey of more than a hundred miles. Think of the denseness of the forest, the fallen trees and rocks, the windings of the river, the streams emptying in, and the frequent swamps to be crossed. It made you shudder.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)