Morning mile honors for Mizereck and Willis

Around breakfast time on Saturday morning, 16 August 2014, Matt Mizereck ran unchallenged for four laps around the Maclay School track, posting a winning time of 4:22.11 in Gulf Winds Track Club's 17th annual "Breakfast on the Track" Mile. Maclay sophomore Caroline Willis was the top female in the event, running 5:26.81. 212 athletes competed in the one-mile race, which was run in ten sections seeded by projected finish time.


Matt Mizereck ran in the first section, which started at 7:45 AM. Immediately after the starting pistol fired, Mizereck bolted to the front, followed by master runner Joseph Carnegie. The pace was too swift for Carnegie, though, and before the end of the first lap he gave up the second position to Joseph Garcia. Garcia was able to hold on to the second spot, but Mizereck steadily pulled away. Churning out one fast lap after another, Mizereck cruised to a 4:22.11 win. Garcia remained runner-up, posting a 4:35.41. Chris Lake outkicked Zach DeVeau for third, 4:39.22 to 4:41.61. Geb Kiros was the first master runner in the field, placing thirteenth overall in 4:57.21.


Mizereck had previously run the "Breakfast on the Track" Mile once in 2006, finishing tenth in 5:01.09. At the time he was just out of eighth grade and still racing in Raa Middle School colors. Since then Mizereck had won three state titles in cross country and three more in track and field while competing for Leon High, and logged three years of collegiate distance running at the University of Florida plus another half year at Florida State. A 4:22.11 mile wasn't exactly comparable to his high school 1600-meter best of 4:11.76 or his college 1500-meter best of 3:51.17, but Mizereck wasn't exactly approaching the race seriously.


"I got here at 7:30 or 7:35 and jogged two laps," Mizereck admitted, describing his warm up. "For as horrible as I felt the race was alright."


4:22.11 was good enough to win the race, though, and it was also the second best performance in the 17 years of the "Breakfast on the Track" Mile. Only Ryan Deak's 2001 record of 4:21.47 was faster.


"I'd like to come back next year and go after the record," said Mizereck.


Running in the second section Caroline Willis, a sophomore distance runner at Maclay, approached the race more seriously than Mizereck. 15 years old, Willis is just a year older than Mizereck was when he first raced at the "Breakfast on the Track," but this was her third time in Gulf Winds Track Club's one-mile run. Outkicking Katie Showman for the women's title, Willis ran her fastest mile ever, a 5:26.81. Sherron was less than a step behind in 5:27.12. Jillian Heddaeus was third in the women's standings with a 5:53.29. Middle school runners took the next three spots, with Deerlake's Emily Molen fourth in 5:57.64, Holy Comforter's Katherine Resavage fifth in 6:01.64, and Lindsay James of Maclay sixth in 6:06.12. Mary Vancore took top master woman honors, tenth in the women's division with a 6:16.40.


Just over 60 years ago, on 6 May 1954, Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four mile, a 3:59.4. Afterwards, though, he had to leave the Oxford University track at Iffley Road to get dinner. After the "Breakfast on the Track" Mile, athletes were invited to enjoy pancakes right at the track. Civilization marches on.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2014 Breakfast on the Track Mile

1. 4:22.11 ~ Matt Mizereck (M, 22)
2. 4:35.41 ~ Joseph Garcia (M, 18)
3. 4:39.33 ~ Chris Lake (M, 26)
4. 4:41.61 ~ Zach DeVeau (M, 26)
5. 4:44.61 ~ Stephen Cox (M, 30)
6. 4:45.17 ~ Nate Kaiser (M, 34)
7. 4:46.60 ~ Jake Mazziotta (M, 16)
8. 4:48.61 ~ Ryan Truchelut (M, 28)
9. 4:50.87 ~ Peter Kaus (M, 30)
10. 4:51.28 ~ Thomas Howell (M, 18)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2014 Breakfast on the Track Mile

1. 5:26.81 ~ Caroline Willis (F, 15)
2. 5:27.12 ~ Katie Sherron (F, 32)
3. 5:53.29 ~ Jillian Heddaeus (F, 31)
4. 5:57.64 ~ Emily Molen (F, 12)
5. 6:01.64 ~ Katherine Resavage (F, 13)
6. 6:06.12 ~ Lindsay James (F, 11)
7. 6:06.34 ~ Rachel Rumana (F, 15)
8. 6:07.90 ~ Kenzie Mazziotta (F, 13)
9. 6:15.65 ~ Hannah Hosay (F, 12)
10. 6:16.40 ~ Mary Vancore (F, 50)

"Breakfast On The Track" Mile champions, 1998-2014
Date	Men	Women
8 August 1998	4:36 ~ Robert Pautienus	5:21 ~ Jane Johnson
14 August 1999	4:26 ~ Lee Willis	5:27 ~ Jane Johnson
26 August 2000	4:42.97 ~ Gary Droze	5:09.08 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams
18 August 2001	4:21.47 ~ Ryan Deak	5:08.94 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams
17 August 2002	4:35.07 ~ Lee Willis	5:10.33 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams
16 August 2003	4:45.20 ~ David Huntzinger	5:02.28 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams
14 August 2004	4:32.40 ~ Lee Willis	5:11.79 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams
13 August 2005	4:46.26 ~ Art Remillard	5:07.13 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams
12 August 2006	4:47.58 ~ Whitney Strickland	5:09.85 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams
18 August 2007	4:48.04 ~ Michael Martinez	5:12.91 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams
16 August 2008	4:31.39 ~ Whitney Strickland	5:12.79 ~ Jana Stolting
15 August 2009	4:43.40 ~ Patrick Swain	5:05.66 ~ Jana Stolting
21 August 2010	4:33.30 ~ Trevor Touchton	5:00.97 ~ Stefanie Kurgatt
20 August 2011	4:26.90 ~ Kevin Sullivan	5:05.82 ~ Stefanie Kurgatt
18 August 2012	4:40.52 ~ Travis Covert	5:01.74 ~ Stefanie Kurgatt
17 August 2013	4:34.92 ~ Remy Tamer	5:12.07 ~ Sheryl Rosen
16 August 2014	4:22.11 ~ Matt Mizereck	5:26.81 ~ Caroline Willis

Links

• Complete results of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2014 Breakfast on the Track Mile
  http://www.gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2014/BOT%202014.asp
  
  
• More photos of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2014 Breakfast on the Track Mile
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10104923065898323.1073742000.5215641&l=7e0c6834c8
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2014 Breakfast on the Track Mile
  https://picasaweb.google.com/112560881455823075870/BOT14
  
  
• 2013 story, "Tamer and Rosen eat up the field at Breakfast on the Track"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/08/breakfast-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, "Covert and Kurgatt master the mile and a morning meal"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/08/breakfast-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, "Making a meal of the mile"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/08/breakfast-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, "A mile for breakfast"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/08/breakfast-2010.html
  
  
• 2009 story, "Patrick Swain wins 2009 'Breakfast on the Track' Mile"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2009/08/patrick-swain-wins-2009-breakfast-on.html
  
  
• Upcoming races on road, track, and trail in the Tallahassee region
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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