Photos by Adrian Umpierrez
The Millrose ‘Games’
They’re called Games. When your degenerate uncle says he’s going to watch the races with a stack of cards under his arm, he’s not heading to the Armory. I don’t mean to insult the ponies, but to my knowledge, they lack a certain intellectual dimensionality that human racers bring to the oval. I don’t think they’re able to scheme quite to the same extent as their upright counterparts. They can get spooked for sure, and probably even get a little case of the yips, but I would venture to guess that there are limits to the depths they can go to in overthinking something, spiraling, and countering mind games with their opponents. After all, there is no Real Housewives: Horses of Westchester County, and not having thumbs isn’t the only thing keeping a thoroughbred stallion from seeing a rival posturing in the street and waltzing off the porch to exclaim: “I’m your huckleberry, that’s just my game.”
The Orange Runner with Chairman of the Boards, Eamonn Coghlan
During the introductions of the Women’s Wanamaker Mile race at Sunday’s Millrose Games, there was some confusion as the PA announcer worked his way down the line, past a waving Gracie Morries, past Susan Ejore-Sanders, Klaudia Kazimierska, and Linden Hall to the duo of Nikki Hiltz and Sinclaire Johnson. Originally, Hiltz stood in front of Johnson in the single file line between the pyrotechnics machines, ready to be introduced, but when accolades of the runner were rattled off, Hiltz looked back at Johnson and motioned to swap places because the stats seemed to fit her resume more appropriately. Johnson looked at Hiltz, and they lightheartedly shook their heads at each other at the mix-up as Johnson moved to the front.
You can’t really blame the announcer. Johnson and Hiltz have traded rankings on the US all-time lists, with 3 100th’s of a second currently separating them at the top of the Outdoor Mile rankings (4:16.32 - Johnson and 4:16.35 - Hiltz). They sit first and fourth on the American Road Mile list (Johnson - 4:21.66 and Hiltz - 4:24.50). And 2nd and 6th on the American all-time outdoor 1500m list (Hiltz - 3:55.33 and Johnson - 3:56.75).
As the introduction of the runner in question wrapped up, both athletes were sufficiently confused when the voice exclaimed: “representing New Balance, Nikki Hiltz!” Johnson, recently swapped out her Nikes for some Hokas, and Hiltz is widely recognizable in a Lululemon speed suit. Hiltz took it in stride, pointed at the Lulu logo on their uniform and strode past Johnson down the track.
In the moment, the strategic (degenerate uncle) part of my brain wondered if this move had been a bit of gamesmanship from Hiltz- a little play to rattle her friend, Sinclaire in an early season meet where the goal of the top runners in the field tends to bend towards the win, outweighing finishing time.
My mind drifted back to a conversation I had with Donavan Brazier after his Millrose victory in 2020- a 1:44 negative split American Record. He said that he instructed the rabbit to go out in 49 knowing full well that he wasn’t going to go with the pace. When the gun cracked, the rabbit shot out hot, and Brazier went straight to the back of the field. Now, I don’t know if he actually said that to the rabbit or if that was something he was just telling me. These stories can get stretched, or if he partook in that kind of deception, what was keeping him from deceiving me? His goal is likely to keep everyone guessing when he steps to the line, and I’m a part of the game too- a member of the track media he could count on to parrot his quotes into the public realm, where his competitors can consume them and begin to spiral.
In the case of Hiltz and Johnson, I had been listening to the broadcast commentary from Paul Swangard and Kara Goucher and until carefully watching the clip of the intros, and rewinding it over and over to hear the PA announcer in the background, I was unaware of the position they both found themselves in- with stats so close, wondering who was being spoken about. It appeared through careful inspection that Hiltz was just as confused by the situation as Johnson. They went on to win the race, their first Wanamaker win, in 4:19, placing themself 3rd all-time on the indoor mile list.
This year’s Millrose Games billed a few marquee races that were talked about as world record attempts- the Men’s 2 mile and Mile, specifically. World Records had been set in each of those races in the preceding 2 years, and both athletes who set those records (Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse) were in the field amongst athletes who could challenge them. The records didn’t materialize this year, but whether or not a record is broken, someone always has to win the race. The more accomplished and skillfully unique the field, the tastier the race. Rabbits for most of the races were not the main focus of athletes, as they were thinking about each other more than the clock. Cam Myers, the 19-year-old Aussie sensation who won the Men’s Wanamaker Mile said he was happy with the win- the biggest of his career, and that the times will come (he ran 3:47). Olympic Gold Medalist, Matthew Centrowitz lamented on Instagram the fact that 3:47 could now be brushed aside as the result of a tactical race these days. Centro may as well be Jim Thorpe to these young broncos, but he was the consummate gamesman, with the confidence to even employ a dawdle as a deliberate tactic.
Cam Myers took down 3-time Wanamaker champion, Yared Nuguse and world indoor 2,000m record holder, Hobbs Kessler in the race, but his comments about time were likely referencing the run by his Oceanic neighbor, 16-year-old Kiwi, Sam Ruthe- ‘the Babe’, who rocketed a 3:48 mile in Boston the night before. For reference, in 2017, Jakob Ingebrigtsen became the youngest athlete ever to break the 4 minute mile at… 16 years old. Things are moving quickly these days, a gamer needs blinders to block out everything outside of the race they are in to keep their head. At a time when most at the top possess the strength to compete, what will set the champions apart is how they are able to maneuver when different situations are thrown at them. It is one thing to be able to get in line, shut your brain off, and haul ass, and quite another to come with a plan, read a pack, and respond to whatever is thrown at you.
The margins are small and getting smaller by the second. Fast isn’t the game, the game is fast.
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