New Balance 5th Avenue Mile: How to Have a Great Race
The New Balance 5th Avenue Mile is a unique race. Once a year, Fifth Avenue from East 80th Street to East 60th Street is closed to traffic and runners take flight, aiming to see how fast they can cover the one-mile distance.
If you’ve been training, all that’s left is to put on the finishing touches. Let’s review the course and discuss a few tips for running the race properly, so you come out happy with your finish time.
Be Ready!
Before you start your race, make sure you warm up, as the mile distance doesn’t provide an in-race warm-up the way a longer race does. With a good warm-up, you’ll feel physically and mentally ready when your heat begins.
Do some dynamic stretching such as high knees, butt-kicks, leg swings, and strides sometime during the 30 minutes or so before your heat. Get your mind in race mode by focusing on your goals, the course, and the finish line.
A Special Course
Running the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile is not like running a mile on the track. The course is not flat; rather, you’ll encounter small rolling hills that you might not even notice in a longer race. With only 1600 meters, you’ll feel them and need to pace yourself to handle them.
Below, we break down the course into four quarter-miles. On race day, you’ll see quarter-mile markers along the course.
First Quarter-Mile: Use the first quarter to start slowly and find your pace and space to run freely. Resist the urge to get swept along too quickly, as the first quarter is slightly downhill. Hold back, be smart, and you will be rewarded.
Second Quarter-Mile: In the second quarter, you’ll encounter your only real climb. While small, it is noticeable, and those who went out too fast will have a hard time here. Keep your effort steady; your pace may slow, and that is okay. You still have a half-mile left.
Third Quarter-Mile: If you held back early on, letting other runners pass you, then you should feel comfortable in the third quarter and can cruise the gentle downhill. The finish line may look close, tempting you to start your final kick here. Hold back—for now.
Fourth Quarter-Mile: The final quarter of the race is flat. You should increase your effort until you are running as hard as you can (RPE 10 out of 10 if you’re familiar with that term) as you approach the finish. This final quarter is the reason you held back earlier. You will be able to pass many runners in this quarter, giving you a strong finish. Dig deep, focus on the finish line, and give it your all.
Celebrate—and Recover
As you cross the line, be proud of your training and time, no matter the outcome. Enjoy your recovery fluids and other items and the cheering crowd. After you feel recovered, walk around or jog a bit to prevent stiffness, or even run a few easy miles if you wish. You can hang out to watch the professional men and women’s races—there’s always great competition on tap.