HONOLULU (13-Dec) -– Sinclaire Johnson smashed the American record in the road mile to score a convincing win at the Kalakaua Merrie Mile on a warm and windy morning here in Waikiki. The race, held in conjunction with Sunday’s JAL Honolulu Marathon, featured a unique mixed-sex pursuit format. The women’s elite field was given a 31-second head start over the men, with prize money awarded based on overall order of finish. For the second year in a row a runner from the women’s division took first place.

Johnson went out hard at the start, following pacemaker Aurora Rynda and quickly opening a gap of more than 10 meters on the women’s pack. When Rynda stepped aside two minutes into the race, Johnson was essentially running a time trial to the finish. The flat out-and-back course on Kalakaua Avenue features a hairpin turn just past the halfway point, which gave her a chance to see how much of a lead she had built. “I was kinda shocked that nobody went with me,” Johnson said. “It’s really hard to tell in a road mile where you are. The turnaround is actually kind of nice because of that.”

Meanwhile, the men’s field, led by pacer Abe Alvarado, was slowly chipping into the 31-second gap. Too slowly, in fact, as it appeared Johnson’s tactics –inspired by talk the previous day of an ambitious early pace for the men– were paying off. When Alvarado dropped out at about three-quarters of a mile, Josh Hoey, this year’s world indoor champion in the 800 meters, and Hobbs Kessler, the top men’s finisher at last year’s Merrie Mile, were leading the charge in a tightly bunched men’s pack but running out of room to get the win.

Up ahead, Johnson ran unchallenged to the finish, clocking 4:21.66 to break the U.S. record of 4:23.98 set by Krissy Gear in April at the Grand Blue Mile in Des Moines. That time also moves her to No. 2 on the all-time world list for the road mile, behind Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, who set the world record of 4:20.98 in 2023. It was also the fastest time ever on U.S. soil. “I was pleasantly surprised with what I ran,” said Johnson, who also set the American record in the track mile this season, clocking 4:16.32 at the London Diamond League meet in July. “Part of my goal this year is really trying to be fearless in races. And there’s no better place to practice that than in a low-key road mile. So today I was fearless and it paid off.”

And it wasn’t until she turned around after the finish line that she realized how convincing her victory was. “The last 200 the fans [lining the course] got really loud and I wasn’t sure if someone was coming up on me or if they were just cheering for me,” said Johnson, who is coached by her fiancé, Craig Nowak, in Portland, Oregon. “That last stretch I was trying to dig deep and give it everything I had.”

Nikki Hiltz, who was the overall Merrie Mile winner last year (off a 32-second head start) and won their third straight USATF title in the 1500 meters this summer, emerged from the women’s pack to grab second overall in 4:24.50. Hoey closed fastest among the men and took third place in 3:54.77, passing Kenya’s Susan Ejore-Sanders (4:26.47) shortly before the line, followed by Kessler (3:56.21).

“This [pursuit] format makes it much more intense,” said Hoey, who arrived in Hawaii on the heels of a world indoor best in the 600 meters (1:12.84) in Boston one week earlier. “I do mostly distance training, so the 600 was kind of a fun experiment and I was happy with how that went. But really I’m a miler, so I prefer this distance. I would definitely come back and do this race again.”

For the overall win, Johnson earned $10,000 (an increase from last year’s $7,500 top prize). Hiltz takes home a $5,000 check as the runner-up, while Hoey scored $3,000 for third, plus a $2,500 bonus as the top male finisher (because a woman was the overall winner). Ejore-Sanders ($1,500) and Kessler ($1,000) also won prize money.

Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse (3:57.25), who was the overall Merrie Mile winner in 2022, finished third among the men, ahead of Kenya’s Festus Lagat (3:57.80) and New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish (3:58.17), this year’s world champion in the steeplechase.

Weini Kelati (4:29.83), the runner-up here last year, took fourth among the women just one week after winning the U.S. cross country title over 10-K. Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka (4:30.04) placed fifth.

Earlier in the morning, the citizens’ race featured 2,854 finishers, up from 2,315 in 2024. Ka’eo Kruse, a Kalaheo, Hawaii, native who now lives in Boulder Colorado, was the men’s winner, in 4:17.21. “Just being able to represent Hawaii and winning a home race felt great,” said Kruse, who competed collegiately at Harvard and the University of Virginia and was an elite triathlete. “These guys are good, they were pushing it, so I just bided my time and waited for the right spot to make my move. I’m pretty confident in my kick.”

Great Britain’s Hollie Parker, who finished seventh in the 1500 at this year’s U.K. championships, won the women’s division in 4:46.25 after only deciding to hop into the race one day earlier. “Better than a Friday workout,” she said with a laugh. “It felt like a sprint. On the road, a mile is really hard to feel so I was just sprinting the whole way.”

By Rich Sands, @thatrichsands.bsky.social
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