by Stuart Weir
Of course, this story is tongue-in-cheek. Stuart Weir thought that with Scottish athletes winning the NYC Fifth Avenue mile last two years, it would be easier to host it in Edinburgh.
Stuart Weir has a habit of doing this. In 2014, Stuart told many Scottish writers that the US would rejoin the Commonwealth so that US athletes could compete in the Commonwealth Games!
Breaking news – Fifth Avenue mile to re-locate
RunBlogRun understands that the iconic New York Fifth Avenue mile organizers are considering relocating the event to Edinburgh, a city famed for its Royal Mile. The motivation in this big decision is to make it more convenient for the elite athletes. With the winners of the men’s and women’s races for the past three years being from Scotland, the move makes perfect sense.
This year, the men’s race was won by world champion Josh Kerr in 3:48, with Jemma Reekie winning the women’s race in 4:20. In 2021 and 2022, the men’s winner was 2022 World Champion Jake Wightman, with Reekie winning again in 2021 and Laura Muir in 2022. Remarkable dominance by Scottish athletes.
This year also saw George Mills finish second in 3:50, a good end to a frustrating season for Mills, who finished third in the GB Champs but was not selected for Budapest. He has ended with a flourish, running a PR of 3:30.95 to come fourth in the Zurich Weltklasse, having just had the call-up less than 24 hours previously before winning twice in Germany (ISTAF and Pfungstadler). Third in the 2023 NY race, Melissa Courtney-Bryant followed at 3:58.22 in Xiamen and 3:58.09 in Brussels with 4:21 in New York, a busy 10 days.
Kerr, whose winning time was the third fastest time in event history and fastest since 1995, commented: “It’s a very different effort to run a mile down the street in flats versus running around the oval with spikes. I didn’t have the performance I wanted to have last year, so I wanted to make that right. It’s nice to end the season on a high, and it’s difficult to do at any point in anyone’s career at the end of the year. I’ve been training and racing for a long time this year and was glad to put on a performance like that today.”
Jemma Reekie said: “Running this mile is always so special to me. I won it back in 2021. Last year, I placed well again last year, and then I’m happy to be back winning this year. It’s such a great event, and it’s always a fun event to come to.”
