Millrose Madness ⏱️

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Compiled by Chris Chavez, Preet Majithia, David Melly, and Paul Snyder

Get Yourself A Track Meet That Does Both 🤩

There are few sporting events in the world that never seem to disappoint, and this weekend, the Millrose Games delivered once again. With all due respect to the Big Football Game in New Orleans, the Big Track Meet in New York was the most exciting two hours of athletics all weekend.

The big takeaways can be condensed into a record rundown: two world indoor records (mile and 3000m), two age-group records (middle-school 60m and U20 mile), three American records, a trio of U.S. high school records, and another ten or so national records. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.

It’s easy to peruse the little annotations by the results and assume that every fast race was a war of attrition strung out by a top-tier pacemaker towing a single-file line of athletes with only PBs on their minds. But at this year’s Millrose, those times were the result of some seriously great head-to-head racing. The slugfest between Grant Fisher and Cole Hocker provided drama and surprises at every banked turn—if DraftKings had half as many prop bets for this meet as the Super Bowl, you could’ve gotten great odds on “Hocker takes the lead from three laps out” or “Grant Fisher passes in the final 50 meters.”

Speaking of long odds, there was certainly a lot of world record talk prior to the men’s Wanamaker Mile. But not many people would’ve bet big on “Hobbs Kessler runs sub-3:47 but doesn’t win the race,” especially after pre-race favorite Josh Kerr withdrew from the meet with an illness. But such is life when Yared Nuguse is on the track at the Armory, as he became the first-ever 3:46 man indoors en route to his third straight title. And thank goodness Gary Martin’s entry time of 3:54.94 was good enough to sneak him into the back half of the field, because just like his beloved Eagles, he exceeded even the highest of expectations. Martin knocked six seconds off his PB, running 3:48.82 to leapfrog from #20 to #2 on the NCAA all-time list. (There had to have been at least one drunken reveler on Sunday night scampering up a greased pole in Center City specifically in Gary’s honor, right?)

Even when distance events didn’t deliver a world-record performance, the battles up front still made for thrilling races. Georgia Bell navigated a stellar Wanamaker Mile field of her own to out-lean and outduel Nikki Hiltz and Heather MacLean. In a race where half a second separated first and fifth place, Bell put on a tactical masterclass, riding MacLean’s slipstream to the front when the American made her move then saving one last gear for the final turn to pass then hold off all challengers. 

In the women’s 3000m, the big takeaway wasn’t just the outcome but its implications for the year to come. Whittni Morgan picked up her second win in as many weeks, following her 14:48.41 5000m at BU with an 8:28.03 3000m at Millrose over fellow American Josette Andrews. Where things really got interesting was how it played out. Morgan, a former NCAA cross country champ, blew past Andrews, a sub-four 1500m runner, in the final lap, closing in a blistering 28.93. Morgan is no slouch when it comes to speed—she was a two-time All-American in the 1500m—but that kind of kick suggests she’s tapping into a new depth of fitness that could make her very, very dangerous in championship settings.

Close finishes were something of a theme across the men’s races: Josh Hoey triumphed over World Indoor champion Bryce Hoppel in the 800m and became the new American record holder in the process. Unheralded sprinter Marcellus Moore took down Trayvon Bromell by a stride in the 60m dash (6.56 to 6.59). And Dylan Beard defended his Millrose hurdles title over Cordell Tinch in world-leading, personal best fashion with a 7.38 victory. 

The women’s races, on the other hand, were all about making a statement. Jacious Sears (7.02 in the 60m), Masai Russell (7.76 in the 60H), Alexis Holmes (51.21 in the 400m), and Shafiqua Maloney (1:59.07 in the 800m) all took decisive and unambiguous victories over strong fields, sending the message loud and clear that, if they make the trip to World Indoors in Nanjing, they’re not flying across the Pacific to finish second.

The 117th edition of the Millrose Games really was the best of both worlds, and proof of a very important concept for the long term prospects of the sport: mind-bogglingly fast running and juicy head-to-head racing aren’t mutually exclusive. When setting the stage for both, sure, it helps to have the prestige and funding of a televised, sponsor-heavy meet with a century of history behind it, but it is possible outside of a championship setting.  

A big part of it is setting the right narrative. The pre-meet coverage of Millrose had a smattering of world record chatter, to be sure, but the bulk of the table-setting for the meet was focused around the strong, balanced fields: Hocker vs. Fisher, Nuguse vs. Kerr, a stacked women’s hurdles, and a wide-open women’s Wanamaker. Compare that with the teasers promoting tomorrow’s Meeting d'Athlétisme in Lievin, where we’ve known for months Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Gudaf Tsegay will be targeting world records but, until a few days ago, we didn’t even know who they’d be racing.

Watching an athlete achieve something no one else has ever done is one of the great parts of track and field fandom, but it can create a false dichotomy that can be unhelpful. If we start judging every race by the metric of “world record” vs. “no world record,” we set an astronomically high standard of success that can tarnish an otherwise-incredible viewing experience.

We can have it all. Producing and celebrating fast times is an admirable goal for any meet. Athletes can and should set big goals and call their shots for fans to follow along. But when a world record attempt fizzles, ensuring that rivalries, underdogs, upsets, and comebacks are just as integrated into the package of goods being sold provides a strong, durable foundation that helps guarantee a satisfying viewing experience regardless of the numbers next to each result.

Track-sody In Blue 💙

Blue tracks are just faster. At least, that’s what you'd be forced to conclude after watching Millrose on Saturday, where records fell so frequently it felt like the track was actively conspiring against the laws of physics. Race after race, result after result, it felt like every single athlete to set foot inside the historic Washington Heights building ended up with a “PB,” “NR,” or “WL” next to their name.

The revamped and recolored Armory track, freshly installed by Miller Sports Construction, officially opened for business in October after a meticulous resurfacing project that started in August. They stripped off five layers of the old Mondo surface, kept some of the plywood, and laid down one pristine layer of brand-new Mondo Super X720 atop the original layer of Mondo. 

The Armory had run some tests and found that it was possible the old track had so much Mondo piled on top that it wasn’t providing optimal bounce—sort of like a mattress from a college dorm room, which probably had 15+ previous “owners.” (Granted: Josh Kerr’s two-mile world record at last year’s Millrose Games showed that the track had at least some pop.)

But bounce science only scratches the surface (pun intended) of the new track’s mystique. Longtime New York run club locals occasionally offer an additional theory—one based on the Armory’s location in the world. Like the “Coors Field Effect” in baseball, where the Rockies’ high-altitude stadium is generally thought to make balls travel a little farther, the building itself could potentially be adding to the third-floor track’s boost. Could the Armory really be getting literal structural support, as it sits on the third floor of a steel-girder building? Until biomechanics guru-slash-ultramarathoner Geoffrey Burns, who previously wrote about the physics of Boston University’s track, teams up with an architect to answer that in a more scientific and data-driven way, we may never know for sure.

There are other factors at play as well. The Armory track, like BU’s, is permanently fixed, while newer venues lean into hydraulic tracks that can rise and fall like a seesaw. Do the hydraulics absorb energy in ways that make them slightly slower? Newly-installed humidifiers are also helping athletes combat track hack. The Armory’s tighter turn radius is generally considered slower for distance than the more forgiving ovals at BU or Penn’s new Ott Center—but the pace at which the milers of 2025 run is also faster. We also know that human bodies have all kinds of person-to-person variance: certain athletes are “super-responders” to carbon-shoe technology or high altitude training. Could certain athletes’ biomechanics interact with different track surfaces the way some hitters just see the ball better in certain ballparks?

Until some physics-obsessed researcher shows up at the Armory with accelerometers and a whiteboard, maybe the simplest answer is correct: the track is blue now, and records are dropping. Coincidence? Maybe. But we’ll never know for sure.

Liévin The U.S. Indoor Circuit Behind 🇫🇷

While Millrose set the bar so high that only Katie Moon could clear it, the World Indoor Tour keeps chugging along with the next Gold level meet set to kick off tomorrow, February 13 in Liévin, France.

Some of the early stops on the Indoor Tour have been a little underwhelming in terms of the top athletes they’re able to attract and advertise, but the list of stars entered for the Meeting d'Athlétisme Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais is even longer than its name. And although the big pre-race headlines are sigh focused around two high-profile world record attempts, there are a fair number of intriguing storylines to follow beyond chasing Wavelights around the track.

Will the Americans’ world records last less than a week?

Jakob Ingebrigtsen, already the indoor world record holder in the 1500m, is entered in the rare European indoor mile to take a crack at the four-day-old mark set by Yared Nuguse. Given Ingebrigtsen’s outdoor PB of 3:43.73 and the fact that his 3:30.60 indoor 1500m best is over a second faster than the Millrose boys came through, it’s certainly in the cards if the Norwegian time-trial maestro shows up fit and gets a good pace job.

Grant Fisher’s 3000m world record feels less likely to get quickly reset, but with 12:36 5000m runner Hagos Gebrhiwet, 7:24 man and steeplechase specialist Getnet Wale, and 3:29 1500m runner Niels Laros entered, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. After all, this is the track where Lamecha Girma set the old record in 2023.

Will Genzebe Dibaba’s world record last into its second decade?

Gudaf Tsegay looks to attack Dibaba’s 3000m world record from 2014 that she missed by a fraction of a second two years ago, and she’s joined in the race by current world leader Freweyni Hailu (a matchup made all the more spicy given there is no love lost between the two). Not to mention Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Nadia Battocletti and talented teenager Birke Haylom are in the field and it never hurts to have even more talent in the mix to keep things honest. Tsegay has her work cut out for her, but maybe the safest bet in the entire meet is that Battocletti will break her own national record of 8:41.72—perhaps even by 20 seconds or so.

A tale of two short hurdlers.

Both world record holders in the 60m hurdles are crossing the pond for a Eurotrip, but Bahamian Devynne Charlton and American Grant Holloway are meeting up on very different trajectories. Holloway has never lost a 60H race, and while he’s only raced once this season (a 7.42 win at the NB Indoor Grand Prix), he’s the proud owner of eight of the nine fastest performances ever run in the event and isn’t likely to be dethroned.

Charlton, on the other hand, has yet to recapture the magic she found in 2024. She sits at #5 on the 60H list so far this season without a win on her card yet this year. And posting one in the win column won’t come easy, as Jamaican Ackera Nugent and American Grace Stark are also making the trip over, Stark has twice run faster than Charlton’s 7.83 season’s best.

All four of 2025’s sub-two runners line up on the same track.

Four women have broken two minutes in the 800m so far in 2025, and all four will be on the starting line in Liévin. After their face-off last weekend, Tsigie Duguma and Jemma Reekie—who finished 1-2 at World Indoors last year—are back for more. But this time, they’re joined by a red-hot Shafiqua Maloney, coming off a 1:59.07 win in New York, and Prudence Sekgodiso, the South African who had a breakout year last season. Duguma is probably the favorite as the reigning World Indoor champ and fastest runner this year, but it’ll be a tightly-packed race up front.

The return of Erriyon Knighton.

Erriyon Knighton has run exactly one indoor 200m ever, on this track last February. That 20.21 debut put him at #12 on the all-time list, and it’s not crazy to expect that a little more experience with the two-turn 200m could put him much closer to Frank Fredericks’s world indoor record of 19.92. Where did Frederick clock that performance back in 1996, you might ask? On the Liévin track, of course. So it’s safe to say that if Knighton shows up in some kind of form, he’s at the right facility to drop something special.

Action kicks off tomorrow at 6:15pm local (12:15pm E.T.) with the big mile attempt set for 9:10pm/3:10pm. You can follow along with live results and view a full schedule and entry lists here. Allez, allez, allez!

What Does The Future Of Pro Training Groups Look Like? 🔮

Last week, Nike announced the formation of “Swoosh TC,” a rebrand of its existing professional athlete/coach support system with a twist. Swoosh TCl unites three distinct training groups under one set of brand guidelines, each led by a widely respected coach: Diljeet Taylor in Provo, Mike Smith in Flagstaff, Jerry Schumacher in Eugene. 

While the details are a bit vague and the whole thing reads more like a marketing slide deck than a specific funding and performance plan, it seems the goal is for Nike to push the bulk of its financial support for professional distance running in that direction over the coming years, banking on the Swoosh TC clubs and their leaders becoming the most desirable landing spot for the sport’s ascendant distance stars.  

Because Nike has historically found success at the forefront of change in track and field, we have every reason to take their rebrand seriously. They could’ve announced two new teams, or a new coach helming one of Nike’s existing groups, but they’re creating a new, more nebulous structure: one “track club,” three coaches, three home bases.

What does that mean? Right now, we don’t know for sure, but we can hypothesize. Given that two of the three coaches (Smith and Taylor) are currently based in the high-altitude training meccas of Flagstaff and Provo and the third (Schumacher) is spitting distance from Nike’s corporate HQ and its campus, one possibility is that athletes could shift their base of training more easily between altitude stints and sea level without losing access to resources or facilities. Another is that it creates easy paths for shifting training setups with less drama. You don’t like one coach or city? Simply try another out without having to change your uniform.

Adherents to the “track and field needs stronger teams” argument may believe this announcement might usher in a renewed focus on the training group model of athlete support. American distance stars have gotten more scattered and individualized these past few years, often leaning on college coaches for guidance and structure. Companies looking to follow Nike’s lead may double down on existing, effective groups. Perhaps new ones will form in hopes of not missing out in the expectation of success and sales.

Well, if we’re entering another golden era for groups, there are a handful of things we’d like to see done differently this time around, not just by Swoosh TC but by all others, whether extant or still a twinkle in some sport’s marketer’s eye. 

Think—and budget—with a long term vision.

A group launched—or reinvigorated after years on the backburner—shouldn’t be viewed as a “quick” play for glory come LA28. Yes, pursue and develop the types of athletes you think stand a shot at medaling in three and a half years. But in the event that nobody from your squad winds up on the podium, don’t immediately burn the whole thing down and start from scratch. In any other professional sport do teams come with an expiration date? No! There’s a broad understanding that building a successful program can take time and that “rebuilding years” are occasionally necessary. 

That means being patient with the development of talent already in-house, as well as when it comes to signing on increasingly bright stars. But it also means a steady level of brand support. Because while a group like Swoosh TC might nominally exist to churn out world-beating distance runners, at the end of the day this is all an exercise in marketing. ROI may not be directly attributable to most individual athlete sponsorships, but there’s a calculation being made that spending money on elite track and field will positively impact the company’s bottom line. And as with any marketing initiative, sustained investment—financial and otherwise—is integral to its success.

A group should transcend one coach or individual.

Other sports realized something a long time ago: people are rarely lifelong fans of a team because of who the coach is. A coach should be thought of as important, but expendable—just another input that can be tweaked in pursuit of desired athletic results. They should not be the face of an organization.

With the notable and commendable exception of NAZ Elite, track and field has a habit of inextricably linking a group to its star coach and/or athlete. Fans of Drew Hunter or Frank Gagliano become fans of their teams, not vice versa. The problem is that all it takes is an injury, retirement, or end of contract terms to destabilize a group with an otherwise strongly-defined brand, and the result is that few of the teams that existed in 2010 are still around and recognizably familiar in 2025.

Again… this is not something that happens in any other major sport out there. Take Kentucky basketball and the rabid fans of “Big Blue Nation.” This time last year, public opinion was waning—but still behind—longtime coach John Calipari and his Wildcat program, but following Cal’s departure for the University of Arkansas, he’s now public enemy number one in Lexington and new coach Mark Pope has rapidly amassed popularity on par with a religious figurehead. And no Kentucky fans are suddenly cheering for the Razorbacks. That's normal …in every sport except track.

Professional training groups should be constructed so that one star or coach’s departure doesn’t trigger a collapse of the team. In practice, that might mean having somebody who isn’t the coach involved with high-level decision-making—on most team sports that’d be the general manager—so that there’s some continuity and reinforced team structure during times of change.

Really sell that the team means something.

This last point is probably the toughest in terms of actual implementation, but if done correctly, it takes care of the first two goals as well. The obvious criticism of the Swoosh proposal is that it’s not one team; it’s three teams. Are Ella Donaghu, Duncan Hamilton, and Abdi Nur really teammates if they live, train, and compete in completely different settings and only see each other a few times a year?

Right now, Nike is telling us they are. The challenge for the Phil Knight Brain Trust is to make us believe it. And because we don’t have the generally-accepted commonalities that sell the concept of “team,” that means it’ll be built on storytelling and branding.

That could look a lot of different ways: Nike athletes running together on more out-of-championship relays. Documenting full-group training camps on YouTube. Unifying (and publicizing) competition schedules and goals. The possibilities are endless—but necessary.

People care about teams when athletes seem to care about each other. There are plenty of examples in other sports, but also in running: from Shalane Flanagan and Amy Cragg’s marathon tactics in Los Angeles, to Kenneth Rooks pacing James Corrigan to an Olympic qualifier, to the hosts of the Coffee Club podcast. Camaraderie isn’t hard to find in our admittedly individualistic sport, but uniting the disparate wings of Swoosh TC may take some “fake it ‘til ya make it” strategizing.

Intent becomes impact when effort follows. And while that sounds like a fortune cookie or a motivational office poster, it’s nevertheless true. So when anyone—Nike or otherwise—rolls out a shiny new idea for the next chapter in track and field’s eternal quest for broader relevance, the real work is only just beginning.

Valentine’s Day Ideas For The Runner In Your Life 💌

Shoot. You were so focused on getting through this week’s Workout Wednesday and last week’s Super Bowl Sunday that making plans for Valentine’s Day with your sweetheart totally slipped your mind. We’ve all been there: you’re making desperate calls to every fully-booked restaurant and picking up the last box of chocolates at CVS, hoping that you can pull something together by February 14th.

But if the special someone in your life is a real track and field junkie, fear not! The Lap Count has stepped up to put together a guide for every runner with a big heart—and big weekly mileage—in your life.

Skip the candy—just buy them long run fuel.

It’s Friday evening and the local run-specialty shop is closed for the evening. You’re left rummaging through a half-eaten bag of gummy bears and gels with “sell by: February 2023” printed on the side, trying to scrounge up enough easily-digested carbohydrates to get you through tomorrow’s marathon workout. But not this year, when the love of your life gets you a care package of GUs, Maurtens, Honey Stingers, and more, with all your favorite flavors carefully selected and backups for every pit stop! And with the way long-run fueling costs can add up, buying your partner a few weeks’ worth of gels is just as costly as imported chocolates or a few dozen roses—but far more useful.

Nothing says “I love you” like pacing help in a long workout.

They say there are five main love languages, but for runners, there’s a secret sixth: pulling your partner through an entire set of repeat miles and leading every step into the wind. Acts of service? Sure is. Quality time? Nothing better. Heck, you can even throw a few words of affirmation into the tempo or during the rest. Unfortunately, this particular Valentine’s Day gift isn’t for everyone: if you’re the slower or more injury-prone runner in your couple, you may be SOL. But you can subtly suggest this gift idea for next year and reap the benefits yourself.

There’s no sexier intimate apparel than a high-quality running sock.

Lingerie doesn’t prevent frostbite or ward off blisters, people! The older you get, the more you start to realize that the greatest gift any runner can receive is a brand-new pair of high-quality, sturdy wool running socks to replace the graying, hole-ridden pair you can’t quite exorcise from the laundry rotation. Nothing says “I love you” like a few new pairs of socks featuring the flashiest, highest-tech stitching money can buy, and no better way to also say “...and I’m tired of you complaining about black toenails” than gifting your loved one a fresh set.

Watch a romantic comedy that features track and field.

Movie night stays undefeated as an easy, cheap, and cozy date idea. And the canon of “films that are conceivably romantic but also feature running” is surprisingly large. Rom-coms like Juno and Valentine’s Day feature track athletes like Michael Cera and Taylor Lautner. Films like Personal Best explore the steamy side of the sport, and hey—even Pre has a few flirty interactions with Mary Marckx in Without Limits, so it totally counts.

Take a date to the BU Valentine Invitational.

It’s right there in the name,and at $12 a ticket, it’s one of the more cost-effective ways to spend the evening. For most fans, this is the closest you can get to a date with Grant Fisher, as he heads to Boston to take a crack at a fast 5000m after setting the world indoor 3000m record at Millrose. And if your Valentine’s ideal date involves cheering mightily for heat 12 of the mile, you just may have found your soulmate.

Do yourself and the special runner in your life a favor and make this Valentine’s Day a track and field-themed spectacular. It’ll seem like you were thoughtful, inventive, and deeply care about their interests… not that you simply ran out of ideas or forgot to make a plan. Everybody wins, and isn’t that what true love is really all about?

More News From The Track And Field World 📰

– The fields for next month’s USATF Half Marathon Championships have been announced! Weini Kelati headlines a rock-solid women’s field that also includes a ton of marathon stalwarts (Sara Hall, Dakotah Popehn, Kellyn Taylor, and more) plus up-and-coming road warriors still sliding up in distance, like Amanda Vestri. 2024 Olympic marathoners Lenny Korir and Clayton Young get top-billing for the men, but just as many eyes will be on athletes like Biya Simbassa, Alex Maier, and Joe Klecker, looking to establish themselves as the future of American marathoning.

– At the INIT Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe in Germany, the women’s shot put took center stage, as Chase Jackson, Sarah Mitton, and Jessica Schilder all threw further than 20m. But Mitton stole the show with a 20.68m toss, the best throw indoors since 2013.

– With Western States Golden Tickets on the line, incredibly deep fields assembled for the Black Canyon 100k in Arizona—imagine a sort of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory vibe but with fewer industrial accidents and more saguaro cactuses. Both the men’s and women’s course records were summarily wiped out, with Seth Ruhling going 7:24:55, and Riley Brady crossing the line in 8:16:18.

– Boston University continues to exert its increasing influence over the NCAA record books, with Georgetown’s Abel Teffra (3:52.44 mile, #8 all-time) and the Villanova duo of Liam Murphy (7:35.47 3000m, #4 all-time) and Marco Langon (7:36.87 3000m, #7 all-time) clocked top-ten performances at the Scarlet and White Invitational. Also notable was Shelby Houlihan’s 4:20.30 victory in the mile in her second race of 2025.

– Nia Akins, who left the Brooks Beasts and with it her Brooks contract last summer, has signed with Hoka, and will continue training with Derek Thompson’s group in Philadelphia.

– Sha’Carri Richardson continued her expansion beyond track and field-exclusive spaces into the wider sports world, leading off Nike’s first Super Bowl ad since 1998.

– And speaking of track athletes with a wide reach, Emma Coburn ‘13 will be sharing her wisdom with the next generation of Buffalos as a speaker at CU Boulder’s commencement this spring.

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