by RBR Admin
Katie Mackey photo by Photorrun.net
Garrett Heath, photo by PhotoRun.net
Isaac Yorks, photo by Mike Deering/The Shoe Addicts
The Brooks running company is sponsoring a road mile in Vegas! I love road miles. It also gives road runners a chance to see track stars on the Brooks Beasts.
BROOKS RUNNING AND ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MARATHON SERIES TEAM UP TO HOST THE BROOKS BEASTS DESERT THROWDOWN ON THE LAS VEGAS STRIP
– Top professional runners to take on a one-mile showdown on November 11
– $20k total prize purse on the line for men’s and women’s race
TAMPA, Fla. / LAS VEGAS (Nov. 6, 2018) – The Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series®, together with Brooks Running Company, will host a brand-new professional one-mile invitational race – the Brooks Beasts Desert Throwdown – which will take place on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, November 11, 2018 at 3:45 p.m. PST. As part of the Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll® Las Vegas Marathon & ½ Marathon weekend, 21 professional male and female runners will race down the Las Vegas Strip with a $20,000 total prize purse on the line.
“At Brooks, we always look for new ways to engage runners and fans of our sport,” said Matthew Weiss, director of marketing, retail, events and sports marketing. “The inaugural Brooks Beasts Desert Throwdown will be a unique, high-energy race that we hope will captivate runners everywhere.”
The elite runners will take to the course starting on the east side of the strip and adjacent to the marathon and half marathon finish line. Runners will then turn to head back and finish under the Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & ½ Marathon finish line arch. The champion in both the men and women’s races will take home a wrestling-style champions belt along with a cash prize.
“We are looking forward to introducing this new competitive element to the already fun filled Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas event weekend,” said Josh Furlow, Managing Director of North America for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series. “When you think Vegas, you think about ‘Going Big’ and ‘All In’ and we are excited to bring these elite athletes to the strip as they lay it all on the line.”
The women’s field will feature a stellar group of athletes, including Heather Kampf the 2006 NCAA Indoor 800m Champion and a four-time U.S. National Champion in the one-mile road race (2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016). Lining up beside her will be Katie Mackey from Fort Collins, Colo. who finished as the runner-up in the 2010 NCAA Indoor 1500m and eighth in the 3000m at the World Indoor Championship in early 2018. Adding some stiff competition will be Emily Lipari, the 2014 NCAA One Mile Champion. The women’s one-mile world record is 4:12.56 and was set by Svetlana Masterkova in 1996. See the full women’s start list below:
FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | TEAM | HOMETOWN | ACCOLADES* | |||||
Allie | Buchalski | Brooks Beasts | Johns Creek, Ga. | One-mile personal best 4:34.57 (outdoor track time) | |||||
Ayla | Granados | Strava TC/Rabbit | Castro Valley, Calif. | One-mile personal best 4:23 | |||||
Nikki | Hiltz | Adidas | San Diego, Calif. | One-mile personal best 4:38; Six-time NCAA All-American | |||||
Heather | Kampf | Asics | Minneapolis, Minn. | One mile personal best 4:21; | |||||
Raquel | Lambdin | Adidas | San Diego, Calif. | One-mile personal best 4:38.78 (outdoor track time) | |||||
Emily | Lipari | Adidas | Greenvale, N.Y. | One-mile personal best 4:22; 2014 NCAA One-Mile Champion | |||||
Katie | Mackey | Brooks Beasts | Fort Collins, Colo. | One-mile personal best 4:26; Stockholm Diamond League 3000m Champion (2017); | |||||
Tasia | Potasinski | Strava TC | San Francisco, Calif. | One-mile personal best 4:46 | |||||
Rachel | Schneider | Adidas | Sanford, N.H. | One-mile personal best 4:33 | |||||
Dalanne | Zanotelli | Adidas | Big Bear Lake, Calif. | One-mile personal best 4:54 |
*Designates Road Mile time unless otherwise noted
The men’s group is equally stacked with titleholders and contenders. Headlining the race is 17-time NCAA champion and holder of this year’s fastest one-mile, Edward Cheserek. Josh Kerr, who recently broke the NCAA 1500m record with his 3:35.01 performance and hold the title of 2017 NCAA Mile Champion will provide stiff competition. They will be joined by the 2016 NCAA One Mile Champion, Henry Wynne and Garrett Heath who represented the U.S. National Team at the 2010 World Indoor Championships, finishing seventh in the 1500m. Will Leer also represented the U.S. National Team at the 2014 World Indoor Championships finishing in sixth in the 1500m. The men’s one-mile world record is 3:42.13 set by Hicham El Guerroujin in 1999. See full men’s start list below:
FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | TEAM | HOMETOWN | ACCOLADES* | |||||
Pat | Casey | Under Armour | Laurel, Mont. | One-mile personal best 4:01 | |||||
Edward | Cheserek | Skechers | Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya | One-mile personal best 3:57 17-time NCAA Champion | |||||
Garrett | Heath | Brooks Beasts | Winona, Minn. | One-mile personal best 3:51; Three-time Edinburgh XC Champion; 2010 World Indoor Championships – 7th in 15000m | |||||
Josh | Kerr | Brooks Beasts | Edinburgh, Scotland | One-mile personal best 4:11; 1500m personal best 3:35.01; NCAA 1500m Record Holder | |||||
Brannon | Kidder | Brooks Beasts | Lancaster, Ohio | One-mile personal best 4:06; 1500m personal best 3:38.71 | |||||
Will | Leer | Brooks | Minnetonka, Minn. | One-mile personal best 3:54 | |||||
Dillon | Maggard | Brooks Beasts | Kirkland, Wash. | One-mile personal best 4:01.25 (outdoor track time); 1500m personal best 3:42.15 | |||||
David | Ribich | Brooks Beasts | Enterprise, Ore. | One-mile personal best 3:58:09 (outdoor track time) | |||||
Drew | Windle | Brooks Beasts | New Albany, Ohio | One-mile personal best 4:13; 1500m personal best 3:43.64; 2018 World Indoor Silver Medalist – 800m; | |||||
Henry | Wynne | Brooks Beasts | Westport, Conn. | One-mile personal best 4:08; 2016 NCAA One Mile Champion | |||||
Izaic | Yorks | Brooks Beasts | Tacoma, Wash. | One-mile personal best 4:03 2018 US 1500m runner up |
*Designates Road Mile time unless otherwise noted
Tune into coverage of the Brooks Beasts Desert Throwdown one-mile invitational Live on www.facebook.com/RunRocknRoll #BrooksBeasts #DesertThrowdown.
For more information on Toyota Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon & ½ Marathon event weekend, visit RunRocknRoll.com/Las-Vegas. For more information on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, visit www.runrocknroll.com. For media-related inquiries, please contact press@runrocknroll.com.
