Courtesy: event press release

Fast times were plentiful at this Saturday's Mercedes Benz of Austin Congress Avenue Mile (presented by Michelob Ultra). 2002/2003 USATF Indoor Mile Champ Jason Lunn ran hard enough to pick up over $3000 in cash prizes and bonuses, but he fell less than two seconds shy of driving away in a 2003 Mercedes C-Coupe 230, the bonus for anyone who ran under the course record time of 3:47.26 (set by Michal Bartoszak in 1992 and believed to be the fastest mile ever run on a USATF certified course). Lunn is a native Texan from Sugar Land, Texas.

There were 17 male athletes lined up Saturday evening who had run 3:44 or faster for 1500 meters. They concluded the evening after a wave of age group heats that included great performances from Texas Governor Rick Perry, former mile world record holder Jim Ryun and Master's ace Tony Young, who managed a 4:05 mile on the course Saturday night.

Christian Hesch led the huge pack of elites through 400 meters in slightly less than 54 seconds (picking up a bonus of $250 for being the 1/4 mile leader), but was soon swallowed up the pack. At the head of that pack was Bermuda Mile Champ James Thie (Great Britain), former UCLA NCAA Champ Jesse Strutzel and Olympic finalist Jason Pyrah, among others.

Right before 800 meters, Stutzel made a strong move to the front to hit the 1/2 mile mark in 1:51 with the entire pack still in tow (Strutzel picked up the next $250 bonus with this effort). By 1200 meters, Pyrah and USATF 4K XC Champ Robert Gary had begun to fall off the pack, but there were still 10 runners in contention for the winner at 3/4 mile (2:54) as Lunn was at the front (almost as if it were by accident) alongside Thie. Three- time NCAA Indoor Champ Kiwi Adrian Blincoe, coming off a DMR victory (and 3000 meter runner up finish) at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville the week before, made a bid for the victory at this point. Former Razorback star Matt Kerr (CANADA) also made a strong move into first on the Town Lake bridge as the runners were cheered by 5,000-6,000 screaming spectators.

In all, 5-6 runners attempted to steal this race on the final straight, but it was Lunn who got the front with 100 meters to go and stayed there. He barely missed the bonus of a new Mercedes with his time of 3:49.10, but was excited to grab the victory against such a stacked field that saw 11 men go under 4:00!

The women's race was just as fast, although a bit less dramatic. Former Texas Longhorn All American (and 1996 winner) Mardrea Hyman led through the 1/4 and 1/2 mile splits (60, 2:08) to pick up $500 in bonuses, but was soon caught by Nicole Jefferson, who led the last half of the race, slowly pulling away from a pack of five runners for the win in 4:26.85. Heather Sagan ran a monstruous last quarter mile (64.5) to finish fourth as six women broke 4:30. Jefferson narrowly missed the course record of 4:24.00 (set by Patti Sue Plumer in 1991) and was forced to wait until 2004 for the chance to drive home in a new car!