THE CONNING TOWER by Keith Conning: Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour 2015 Events Announced

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour 2015 Events Announced

"Thanks so much for creating the BBTM GP Tour! You are a much needed driving force behind American middle distance running. Thank you for the generous prize!" - Jack Bolas, 2014 BBTM GP Tour champion

Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour 2015 Events Announced

Grand prix tour includes 4 stops; total Tour prize purse exceeds $85,000; Camel City Mile opens Tour 2015 on Saturday, January 31; Running Warehouse’s “Pick-the-Winner” fan engagement online contest also returns

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Bring Back the Mile, the national campaign to elevate and celebrate the storied distance, has announced the return of its grand prix tour that features 4 marquee events from across the country. The Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour 2015, with more than $85,000 in guaranteed prize money, opens on Saturday, January 31 at the Camel City Mile, part of the Hilton Garden Innvitational collegiate track meet in Winston-Salem, N.C. The inaugural BBTM GP Tour in 2014 showcased six events with Jack Bolas and Heather Kampf taking the Tour titles.

“The BBTM Tour Grand Prix Tour 2015 will generate plenty of excitement as the best Milers will be competing at America’s top events for prize money, grand prix points and bragging rights,” said BBTM Founder Ryan Lamppa. “In addition, the popular Pick-the-Winner contest sponsored by Running Warehouse also returns for each Tour stop with a chance to win running shoes or gear.”

Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour 2015 Events

Camel City Mile, Winston-Salem, NC, January 31, $15,000 plus record bonuses
Medtronic TC 1 Mile, Minneapolis, MN, May 14, $25,000 plus $10,000 course record bonus
GNC Live Well Liberty Mile, Pittsburgh, PA, July 31, $20,000
Minnesota Mile, Duluth, MN, September 13, $20,100

The total prize purse for the above Tour events exceeds $80,000 plus $7500 for the Grand Prix purse. Per Tour event per gender, the top 6 will score points (10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1) with the top 4 scorers earning Grand Prix money ($2000, $1000, $500 and $250).

The Running Warehouse “Pick-the-Winner” online contest will again offer direct fan engagement at each Tour stop. HOW IT WORKS: the person who picks the men’s or women’s winner at a Tour event and predicts the closest winning time will be awarded running shoes or gear.

Visit www.bringbackthemile.com/tour or contact media@bringbackthemile.com for more BBTM Grand Prix Tour news and information.

About Bring Back the Mile
The Mile holds a special place in Track & Field and beyond because no running distance, or field event for that matter, has the history, the appeal, the “magic” of the Mile. The first sub-4 minute Mile by Great Britain’s Roger Bannister in 1954 is regarded as the greatest individual athletic achievement of the 20th century (see Forbes November 18, 2005 article HERE), and no other event has produced an equivalent of the coveted and recognized sub-4 minute Mile standard in the sport, in the media or in the public’s mind.

The Bring Back the Mile mission is: To return the Mile to prominence on the American sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a national movement.