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Elite runners race in the Liberty Mile on Aug 1, 2014 in Downtown Pittsburgh. Winner Jordan McNamara, center, was timed at 4:0293 at the finish line on Liberty Ave.
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Liberty Mile looks to heat up in fourth year

John Heller/Post-Gazette

Liberty Mile looks to heat up in fourth year

Usually when someone thinks of something “hot” and “sexy,” it doesn’t involve 5,280 feet of steamy asphalt. 

Yet, for the past three years, Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon, Inc., has strived to make an All-American distance just that.

The GNC Live Well Liberty Mile will take over downtown’s Liberty and Penn avenues between 11th Street and Fifth Avenue starting at 7 p.m. Friday, where elite runners will finish up within about four minutes what common folk labored through in grade school gym class.

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In its fourth year, the $25,000 purse Liberty Mile is part of a four-event Bring Back the Mile Tour and will sport a record of nearly 1,500 racers in one of the most competitive U.S. fields outside the Olympic Trials. Since the race isn’t run at major international competitions like the Olympics, it tends to fade to the background in favor of the fairly comparable 1,500-meter run. But American cities have been investing in reviving the race for competitive purposes — and other fun reasons, as well.

“The mile does have some buzz because it’s this hot, sexy distance that is true athleticism,” race CEO Patrice Matamoros said. “It’s an important distance in the U.S. Everything we do is measured in miles here still.”

Heather Kampf, 28, of Team USA Minnesota has run the race since its inception in 2012, winning the first two installments — her best time in 2013 at 4 minutes, 32 seconds — and coming in second to teammate Gabriele Grunewald last year. She said the road race is less pressure than a track race like the 1,500 meters and also more relatable for spectators.

“Usually, if I tell people I’m a professional runner, they either want to know what my mile time is or my marathon time,” she said, with her personal best at 4:21.39. “Everyone can kind of get on board with it and wrap their head around what a mile means.”

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Jordan McNamara, 28, of Oregon Track Club Elite finished second in 2012 and 2013 before winning the men’s title last year. While his best time in Pittsburgh was 3:59.10 in 2012, he said this race isn’t about the clock — though his personal record is 3:50.91.

“The mile has a beautiful symmetry to it,” McNamara said. “America really has almost a duty to keep the mile alive. It was such a prestigious event back in the 60s. … It’s our event as Americans, and I think it’s really up to us to keep it alive and to keep it in the spotlight.”

Both Kampf and McNamara have extended their influence in the city beyond the handful of minutes it takes to finish the race. The two have built a following in the city by working with the race’s children’s programs, such as talking to kids this afternoon about what it takes to be a pro runner.

“It’s fun to be at a race where the priority isn’t just getting fast athletes to run, to look cool and leave,” Kampf said. “They want us to do something there, to be a part of it and help grow our sport.”

McNamara said his main goal, besides winning, is just to have a good time with the fans who support him here — fans who just might understand how racy a mile can be.

“Last year, all these women wanted to pose with him,” Matamoros said. “They were giving him their babies. He’s a very handsome person. They love Jordan.”

Megan Ryan: mryan@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1722 and Twitter @theothermegryan.

First Published: July 30, 2015, 4:00 a.m.

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Elite runners race in the Liberty Mile on Aug 1, 2014 in Downtown Pittsburgh. Winner Jordan McNamara, center, was timed at 4:0293 at the finish line on Liberty Ave.  (John Heller/Post-Gazette)
2014 Liberty Mile winner Jordan McNamara, left, poses for a selfie with Nick Williams, 12, right, at the finish line on Liberty Ave.  (John Heller/Post-Gazette)
2014 Liberty Mile winner Jordan McNamara greets fans at the finish line on Liberty Ave.  (John Heller/Post-Gazette)
John Heller/Post-Gazette
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