NEW YORK (13-Sep) — With one mighty push from the halfway point, Scotswoman Jemma Reekie scorched to a course record 4:13.9 at today’s 45th New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile, America’s largest and most famous road mile on Sunday (13). The 28 year-old two-time Olympian, who also won the race in 2021 and 2023, followed a mid-race move by Kenya’s Susan Ejore-Sanders (who picked-up the $1000 halfway leader’s prime) and never took her foot off the gas until she was through the finish line at East 60th Street.
Remarkably, it was the ninth time over the past eight editions of the race that a Scottish athlete –male or female– had claimed victory.
“I just really trusted my body, listening to my body,” Reekie told reporters after the race. She continued: “My body felt really good today and I wanted to push it on and run the best of my ability. If it worked, it worked. If somebody came past me, they did. I executed it and came away with the win. I had no idea where anyone was; I was just running to the light.”
Read More: 2026 New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile Results: Jemma Reekie wins again
The Fifth Avenue course is downhill by about nine meters (30 feet), and the first sector features a sharp downhill. Despite the wet roadway from heavy rain prior to the start, the women went out in about 58 seconds for the first quarter, setting up everyone for fast times. That was perfect for Reekie.
“I do really well off of a hard-run race,” Reekie explained. “I knew that one of those girls would run it hard today, and I’m actually happy to run out hard. I had no idea what time; I was just so focused on listening to my body.”
In the chase for the remaining podium positions, it was 2025 USATF 5-K road running champion Josette Andrews who came closest to Reekie. Andrews, 30, who had not raced in a year due to a series of injuries which began with a hamstring tear, went with the hard early pace and was able to maintain her speed in the second half, despite only doing hard workouts for the last six weeks. She posted a time of 4:16.1, which would have been good enough to win in 41 previous editions of the race.
“This feels amazing,” said the smiling Andrews. She continued: “This is actually my first race in an entire year so there were a lot of nerves going into it because I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew I really didn’t have a kick today so I just wanted to progress and stay strong. I really worked hard that second half. I was just gaining confidence as I was passing people.”
Rachel McArthur, the 2024 USATF road mile champion, took third in 4:17.7, with French runner Bérénice Cleyet-Merle taking fourth in 4:19 and USA’s Lindsey Butler rounding out the top five with 4:20.
