Garden State Track Club to Give Latest Race the Ol' College Try

College Avenue will be bustling with fast-moving feet early this summer, as the Garden State Track Club hosts its College Avenue Mile marathon on June 10.

The course for the run is a half-mile loop that begins and ends at the College Avenue gym. The first race -  the youth race for those ages 14 and younger - will begin at 10 a.m., with a number of sub-divisions starting afterward, all the way to 12:50 p.m.

Garden State Track Club President Chuck Schneekloth said the short length of the run isn't something to sniff at. The mile has long been celebrated as a feat of personal achievement.

"One great quote from a very famous runner, John Walker (is) 'The 800 meter record, the records in the 1000, the 1500, the 5000, the relays: no one remembers them. The mile, they remember. Only the mile," Schneekloth said in a recent email to New Brunswick Patch.

Walker was a "world class miler from New Zealand who was the first human to run under 3:50 for a mile," Schneekloth said.

The divisions between ability is also a special point of the run, Schneekloth said. A total of 12 races will be held, divided by age and time.

So, someone who runs an eight minute mile will compete against other right minute mile runners, giving them a real chance to win the race, he said. 

For many distance races, the focus has become all about winning a medal, he said.

"In the mile, it is all about what you achieved...not what you attained, as everyone can attain a one mile run," he said.

Registration is $15 before June 7, $20 after June 7.

Proceeds from the event will benefit "Essays 4 Equipment," a charity that provides running gear for low-income runners in NJ.

For more information on the College Avenue Mile, visit www.gardenstatetc.org/college/mile.html.