The Sir Walter Miler has meant a lot to the Raleigh Running community over the last 4 years. For two RDP team members in particular, the SWM has been both a mental battle and one of the highlights of their running careers. From fears of failure, to fears of last place, the SWM torch has been passed down through the team beginning with Andie Cozzarelli in 2014 & 2015 and moving to Sarah Rapp in 2016 & 2017. Both athletes overcame doubts to make moments to remember. As the torch moves from Sarah to Sammy George this year, we can’t wait to fan girl like crazy. Read on to hear both Andie and Sarah’s accounts of the Sir Walter Miler and our letter to Sammy as she counts down to race day.

Bringing Back the Mile

For the Raleigh running community, the beginning of June marks the start of the Sir Walter Miler Pop-Up Miles. Every Tuesday in June, anyone and everyone in the community gets the chance to hop on a track and race hard for one-mile. If you didn’t grow up running track, this is potentially your once in a lifetime chance to experience the joy in racing a mile as hard as you can on a track. For one of our athletes, Andie Cozzarelli, this years pop-up miles have been a bit different. Coming off a marathon in mid June, Andie has been a spectator. Andie has been here since the beginning of the Sir Walter Miler and has seen how the community engagement has changed an increased over the years. Here is Andie’s take on this years Pop-Up Miles and her thoughts going into this years Pop-Up Championships taking place today at 7:00PM at Meredith College.

Events, Race Story, CommunityAndie CozzarelliJune 26, 2018Sir Walter, Pop-Up Miles, Race DayComment

One of THOSE Races

On Friday evening in Nashville, half of the Raleigh Distance Project team ran the 5000m at the Music City Distance Carnival. Sammy George placed first, Tristin Van Ord earned second, and Erin Clark finished 7th with a 70 second PR. Humidity slowed the times a little, but these performances were encouraging. We are so thankful to have represented Raleigh on a national stage. Even when we don’t measure up to our own expectations, we appreciate the learning opportunities and having teammates to support us regardless of the result. Read more about our experiences at the MCDC 5k!