Why I'm Running the Virtual New Balance 5th Avenue Mile

Thinking about running the Virtual New Balance 5th Avenue Mile Powered by Strava, or already signed up and ready to run your mile anytime, anywhere from September 4 to 13? For inspiration and motivation, NYRR coach Ben Delaney shares his experience training for and running the 2019 New Balance 5th Avenue Mile—including a big race-day surprise! Learn more about NYRR Volvo Virtual Racing, use Strava to map your course and record your virtual race, and stay tuned for more inspiring posts leading up to the race window.

For some runners, the thought of running the mile is an instant time-hop back to middle school and the dreaded one-mile run during P.E. class. Others, who came to running later in life and are accustomed to longer distances on the roads, see a mile simply as the start of a training run or as a shakeout after a race or hard workout.

For me, in recent years the mile has become a challenge to see if my much older self could best my much younger self. As best I can recall, my fastest-ever mile through the age of 18 was just over six minutes. I played soccer and basketball growing up (that's me, below, kitted out in high school), and I thought, maybe naively, these activities should have conditioned me to be a fast runner. Yet somehow, I was never able to crack that six-minute-per-mile pace. After a while, I figured it was just not meant to be.

That self-limiting perception stayed with me even after I turned my focus to training specifically as a distance runner in my early 40s. Even though I’d never really pushed to see how much faster I could be, I figured I just didn’t have a sub-six-minute mile in me.

At the end of 2018, I decided that 2019 was going to be all about speed for me. I doubled down on speed-based workouts, which was a switch from the endurance-focused training I’d pursued for the two years before that. At the 2019 New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile, at age 45, I stood shoulder to shoulder in the corral ready to see if that day was the day that I would best my younger self and maybe even crack that six-minute barrier.

Low and behold, I exceeded my expectations and finished with a time of 5:38! How did that happen? A few factors played in:

• I set new challenges for myself in my running.
• I connected with a coach, discussed new training workouts, and set a goal.
• I wanted to beat that guy and prove to him that older is better.

The Virtual New Balance 5th Avenue Mile Powered by Strava is your opportunity to grab those shoes, set a goal, start working on that speed. You have just a few weeks to prepare, so keep your expectations realistic if you’re not in shape to try for a personal best. Make your goal about having fun and finishing strong and with a smile in 2020.

You can run the mile anytime between September 4 and September 13, anyplace you wish. I’m signed up, and I look forward to seeing you on the Strava leaderboard!