4 Cups of Milk And a Very Fast Mile Makes Marron One of Fastest In Nation

Got milk?

Matt Marron got some milk on April 29. And then, after drinking 48 ounces of the chocolate variety and running a mile, the former track and cross country star for Avon Lake High School found himself with the 7^th fastest time in the nation for the “Milk Mile.”

Marron’s description of the traditional post-season Milk Mile race is a cross between horrifying and fascinating:

“You drink 12 ounces of milk then run a lap,” Marron said. “Then you drink another glass and run a lap. You do this four times. If you puke during the race, you’re disqualified.”

A youtube video of the race shows Marron, along with his Mt. Union teammates, completing the race. At the end of the race, runners have the option—which most of them employ—of vomiting the consumed milk into a lined trashcan that stands just beyond the finish line.

Marron, a freshman at Mt. Union, was taking part in the traditional race a day after his team won its record 29^th Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) championship.

Although Milk Miles have become a national tradition, it's a rare day that one is held immediately after a conference championship.

“We just won the conference and my legs were pretty dead,” Marron, who runs the 1500, 800 and mile for Mt. Union College, said. In his first year on the team Marron also earned All Conference honors.

Readers may recall an earlier story detailing Marron's journey from being an overweight eighth-grader to earning a spot on the ALHS cross country team that went to states.

On Sunday, his legs proved strong enough to not just beat Mt. Union senior Tim Kelly in the race, who won the event three years in a row, but to top Kelly’s previous record-holding time of 5:16. Kelly, of Lakewood, was a national cross-country qualifier in 2009.

Marron’s Milk Mile time of 4:56 not only shattered Kelly’s record, but also landed him in the No. 7 spot for Chocolate Milk Mile times in the race’s history.  The title is held by Jeremiah Vaughan  of Terre Haute, IN, who broke the record at the 2009 Milk Mile National Race.

Marron's time is pretty impressive considering he was a 4:26 miler in high school when he wasn’t drinking 48 ounces of chocolate milk.

Marron, who said he "only threw up once" after the race, admitted to eating Chipotle right before running the mile also.

The race was filled with Mt. Union's track & field team's who’s whos, including Kelly, throwers Sean Donnelly and Anthony Russo, pole vaulters Clay Densmore and Tino Vargas, distance runner Nick Banks of Bay Village and Erik Reed. All American thrower Sean Denard taped the event which he uploaded on youtube. While the video (see attached) starts a little shaky, it’s well worth watching until the end when team members, some dressed for fun, finish and purge.

Marron and his teammates plan on making the drive to Terre Haute in November to compete in the National Milk Mile competition. With a time only 12 seconds off the national record, Marron plans on taking his best shot at toppling it. Moo.