Anna Shields of Torrington won her second straight Spring Street Mile in convincing fashion while Austin Trainor went sub-4 for his first victory on the men's side on Saturday, June 10th in Manchester. Shields set a course record in the women's division by nearly 7 seconds while Trainor becomes the fifth man to run under four minutes down Spring Street.
Under sunny skies and little wind, Anna Shields took the lead from 200 meters in and never looked back. An incredibly similar tactic to her 2016 victory, Shields was the clear leader at the 1/4 mile and extended her lead throughout the race. Shields clocked an official time of 4:35.7, which bettered her victory over last year by just under 7 seconds. She was followed by Sarah Gillespie of Manchester who chased shields down, nearly alone for most of the race and finished in 4:46, while Megan Patterson of Bridgeport was third in 4:51. Linda Spooner of Sturbridge, Mass. defended her Master's championship with a 5:35 clocking to pick up the $50 prize.
The Spring Street Mile is the USATF-CT Road Racing Grand Prix 1-mile Championship and host team Manchester Running Company took first by just four seconds over SoundRunner while Milford Road Runners took 3rd.
On the men's side, the Central Connecticut State University connection continued at Spring Street as Austin Trainor won for the first time in three attempts. CCSU grads have now won three of the last four editions of the event. Trainor, Joe Gioielli, and Richard Grudzwick were clear leaders from the gun, coming through the 1/4 mile in 57 seconds and the half in 1:58. It was a two-man race for the last half with Trainor and Gioielli coming through 3/4 in 3:01 before a blistering final quarter saw Trainor finish in 3:58.1 to Gioielli's 4:01. Kevin Boughan of Sandy Hook was the master's winner in 4:32.
The team title went to SoundRunner in both the open and masters while Hartford Track Club took 1st in Grandmasters and Mohegan Striders were your Seniors winners.