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Welcome to The Guardian Mile!

   One day in 1996, the Alexander family was driving into downtown Cleveland.  Don, pointing to the Hope Memorial Bridge, said to 5-year-old Colby, "Look at that bridge over there. It's a mile long."  Colby: "Is it the longest bridge in history?" 

     Fast forward to 2017.  Colby was now running professionally.  He was back in Cleveland during a summer visit.  As he drove past the bridge, he said to Rae, "Lots of cities are now having one-mile road races.  It would be amazing to one day race over that bridge."

Not long after that, Rae founded GOH Run and formed a committee (Rae, Don, Andy Alexander, Jeff Sigmund, Ken Sullivan, Eric Harsh, and Nate Brannen, with help and input from countless others) to explore the possibility of putting on a world-class community and elite mile race over the Hope Memorial Bridge. The committee decided something of this magnitude would take at least a year of planning. The committee got to work with a clear vision and sense of urgency.

Within months, they decided to instead shoot for August 2018, just over eight months from their initial meeting. Things moved quickly, and a date of August 11th was set. In April, Rae finally called Colby to let him know of their progress.

Rae: "We're going to have a race over the bridge, and it's going to be spectacular." Colby: "Wait, What?!?" Seven and several thousand runners later, here we are. It may not be the "longest bridge in history," but after the uphill first half mile, it certainly feels like it!

The Course

An iconic Cleveland bridge spanning exactly one mile, a half mile up and a half mile down. What is the best strategy to run a fast time on this main artery into downtown Cleveland? How fast or how slow should I run that first uphill half-mile? We're still trying to figure that out! But one thing we do know is that it is a road mile like no other!

It is a very fast one-mile course for those who are fit enough to get to the top of the hill with enough left in the tank to take advantage of gravity over the second half of the race. How fast is it? In 2022, those lucky enough to watch the men's elite race were able to say they saw the fastest mile race in American history! Johnny Gregorek led three men under the 3:49 mark with Johnny running the fastest mile in American history at the time.

3:46.67.... Wow!

So it must be short or significantly downhill point-to-point? No!

In 2023, World Athletics Grade A Course Measurer Jane Parks came out to certify the course. After being officially USATF and World Athletics-certified as an accurate course EXACTLY one mile in length, we became one of the only road miles in the world where runners in our elite races can earn points towards their World Athletics rankings. World rankings are used by many national federations as selection criteria for World Championship and Olympic teams.

We continue to be a "points eligible" race for our elite runners in their quest for a higher world ranking. We want to support elite runners in achieving their ultimate goal of qualifying for the World Championships and Olympic Games. We are also committed to bringing some of the best runners in the world to race in downtown Cleveland every year!

Okay, so it's an accurate, certified mile, but is it net downhill? According to the certification, it is 4 meters net downhill. Very close to level, but not eligible for road mile world records because of the net drop and point-to-point course. However, many Guardian Milers contend that the difficulty of racing uphill for the first half-mile negates any advantage you may gain from the net 4 meters down. But the only way to find out for yourself is to get out there and give it a go!

--Don Alexander