NEW YORK — Marco Langon, who grew up 37 miles from here in Raritan, N.J., got a dramatic victory in the men’s race at today’s 45th New Balance Fifth Avenue Mile, America’s largest and most famous road mile. Langon was making his first-ever Fifth Avenue appearance. The 22-year-old was unfazed by an early solo break by Kenya’s Simon Koech (he won the halfway prime but only finished 17th).
Instead, he focused on Welshman Jake Heyward, who rolled-up Koech in the third quarter and moved into the lead. Langon responded to Heyward’s move, took the lead, and would not be caught. The former Villanova Wildcat clocked an excellent 3:45.0, only seven-tenths of a second off of Josh Kerr’s 2024 course record of 3:44.3.
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“Once I knew I was going to get the front position, I had a good feeling I knew I was going to win,” Langon said. “I came into this race prepared. I won last week in Düsseldorf (at the Kö Mile where he ran 3:52.83 on a record-eligible course), and I won a bunch of 1500’s over the summer. So, I knew I was ready to win this.”
It was the second year in a row that an American won in the men’s division (2024 Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse won last year), but only the third time in the last ten editions. British men have won five of the last ten editions.
Behind Langon, Heyward and Australia’s Adam Spencer battled for second. The pair crossed the line together, but the timer’s photo showed that Heyward was second and Spencer third. Both men were given the same time of 3:45.8.
“I honestly didn’t feel great,” admitted Heyward, who wore the same red Welsh national kit he wore in the Commonwealth Games last July where he finished fourth in the mile. “Obviously, it’s been a long season, and I got on a flight straight after Brussels (last Sunday) to try to get over the jet lag. Maybe I felt like I was a little out of whack.”
Spencer, the bronze medalist in the 1500m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships last March, was very pleased with his race. It was his first time running on Fifth Avenue and he said he might adjust his tactics in the future now that he’s run the course.
“I probably left it too late,” the former University of Wisconsin Badger told Race Results Weekly. He continued: “It was a good race. I hope I do it again because it was good fun.”
Both Langon and Jemma Reekie won $5000 in prize money, and a total of about 8200 athletes completed the race across all divisions, down slightly from last year.
