The inaugural Nick Symmonds Springfield 800 road race drew crowds yesterday in the adopted home of the 5-time US Champion.
Eight-hundred meters -- in a straight line. It's about a half mile and short enough to see the finish from the start line.
But it's not a very common race. In fact, the Springfield 800 is the only officially-sanctioned adult road race of that length in the United States.
It's named for two-time Olympian Nick Symmonds, who has called Springfield his home since 2006. The 800 meters is his event.
"The 800 -- obviously an event that's been great to me," Symmonds says. "I thought it would be really cool if people got a chance to run the 800 themselves and see what 1:42 is all about. It took me 14 years to get down to 1:42 and I think that when you see it on the track it looks a little different than when you're running on the road."
Symmonds decided to run in the youth division, and crossed the finish line in near last place while urging a straggling kindergartner to keep going until the end.
Symmonds set a personal best in the event at the London Olympics, finishing in fifth place.
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