Meb's 26 Favorite Miles

Published by Meb Keflezighi via Facebook on October 21, 2013

Today (October 21, 2013), my family is celebrating our 26th anniversary in the USA. I am kind-of obsessed with numbers, so here are 26 of the most memorable miles I have raced in my running career. 

1. 5:20 mile on my first official mile run as a 7th grader at Roosevelt Junior High in San Diego, CA (1988).

2. Fall 1990- First competitive race in high school XC. I don't remember any splits and I didn't win the race either.

3. 4:22 mile in 9th grade at Balboa Stadium, in San Diego.

4. 4:18 mile as sophomore.

5. 4:11mile as a junior. I was second best in San Diego and 2nd best in the nation behind Mark Hauser, who ended up my teammate at UCLA.

6. 4:05 mile in my senior year.... Became the #1 high school miler in the USA.

7. The 2nd mile of 3200m race at the league championship. I broke Marc Davis’ school record. My time was 8:52.

8. My first NCAA XC race in Fayetteville, AK. I ran back to back 2:03 and 2:17 800m splits, which was a 4:20 mile. That hurt on the cross country course.

9. The last mile in 1996 Pac-10 Championships. It was me versus four Oregon runners in a 5k after I finished 3rd in the 10k the day before. I won my race and helped UCLA secure the PAC 10 title. Tough come back. 

10. Winning the 5K outdoor NCAA championship…the last mile was hard but rewarding.

11. In 1997, the 4th mile of 10k race at NCAA Cross Country…talking to Bernard Lagat during the race. Man, Bernard &I have been in the sport for a LONG TIME.

12. The Goodwill Games, getting lapped by three Kenyans. This taught me persistence and not to give up, even when things are not going your way.

13. 2001 track race at Stanford. Breaking the American record in the 10k averaging 4:20 per mile. In the last mile, I was happy my dream to own an American record was becoming a reality.

14. Running 4:08 for first mile of 5k race in Belgium. Wasn't sure if I heard it right, but ran 13:11 that day. That is still my PR for the distance.

15. 2004 Olympic Games, mile 23 …I had to make a decision: to go for Gold and risk hitting the wall or play it smart and secure an Olympic medal (my primary term goal). I played it smart and I earned the Silver Medal.