The Macdonald Bridge is still waiting for its very own Miracle Mile, a feat now 15 years in the
making.
Runners will once again look to crack the elusive four-minute barrier in the 15th annual MacPass Mile on Sunday starting in Halifax. The Macdonald Bridge’s uphill-downhill route, paved surface and high winds make it especially hard to duplicate Roger Bannister’s first “Miracle Mile” in 1955.
“When you throw in an uphill early on, it’s pretty easy to get into trouble on that,” said Halifax native Robbie Kitz, who will be participating in his fourth Bridge Mile. “There are always a few people really suffering by halfway and there’s not any time (in the mile) to come back from that.”
Kitz’s fastest time in the MacPass Mile was 4:18. He is ranked third in the elite class heading into the race. The top two runners, Matt Lincoln of Scarborough, Ont., and Adam Kellar of Hampton, N.B., both have four-minute credentials.
Lincoln’s personal-best times — 3:38 in the 1,500 metres and 3:59 for a flat mile — are world-class, while Kellar’s personal-best of 3:47 in the 1,500 isn’t far behind.
But it’s going to take a special day to surpass Jamie Blanchard’s MacPass Mile record of 4:02 set in 2002. Kitz said it would be “awfully tough” to pull off four minutes, but said the running community will be dazzled if it happens.
“It would take a very impressive run,” said Kitz, a former cross country runner at Queen’s.
“We’ve had some pretty big names run this thing and not very close to four minutes.”
The open miles start at 9:15 a.m. while the elite miles start at 10:45 a.m. (female) and 11:10 a.m. (male).
