NUGUSE SETS MEN’S ROAD MILE RECORD, WILEY OUTRUNS WOMEN’S FIELD TO CAP 2026 GRAND BLUE MILE
DES MOINES, IOWA, April 21 – The 17th annual Grand Blue Mile presented by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield was back on the streets of Downtown Des Moines on Tuesday evening for another running of the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships and the GBM recreation and competitive divisions.
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The USATF event again served as a qualifying event for Team USA ahead of the World Road Race Championships to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark in September. The top two finishers in both men’s and women’s divisions punched their ticket to wear the red, white, and blue on the global stage.
The festivities began with the second annual running of Spike’s Sprint youth race made of up three separate age groups from 6-10 years old. Nearly 3,700 Grand Blue Milers then took off in the recreational division with participants of all ages and abilities traipsing their way through the heart of DSM. Mascots from across the metro and state of Iowa were up next as Drake’s own Spike the Bulldog outran hist costumed counterparts to repeat in the Mascot Madness Challenge.
The Masters and competitive divisions followed with Susie Duke winning the USATF Women’s Masters 1 Mile before Fiske took top honors on the men’s side.
Finally, the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships punctuated the night with a pair of thrilling races.
2026 USATF 1 Mile Road Championships
35 total runners hit the pavement with with a shot at an American title and spot on Team USA. The women kicked off the professional events with before a loaded men’s field sprinted to the finish.
2026 Women’s USATF 1 Mile Road Championship
The women’s heat of 17 ran as a single pack for nearly half of the downtown track until a leading bunch fractured away and pulled ahead. Gracie Hyde, who went on to finish as the women’s runner-up after narrowly edging Gracie Morris at the line, pushed the pace early, but her quick tempo was matched by several other runners. Addy Wiley, a newcomer to Des Moines, was among the leaders for the entirety and eventually strode ahead of the pack and capture the women’s title. As the top two finishers, Wiley and Hyde secure their spots on Team USA at the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Denmark this September.
“It feels really good, like where I should’ve been for a long time,” Wiley said. “I’m very relieved to be performing the way I know I can and should.”
The Women’s USATF 1 Mile Road Championship top 10 is listed below.
1 Addy Wiley, 4:25.42
2 Gracie Hyde, 4:25.64
3 Gracie Morris, 4:25.75
4 Annika Reiss, 4:26.92
5 Eleanor Fulton, 4:29.34
6 Allie Ostrander, 4:30.27
7 Angelina Ellis, 4:34.35
8 Kassie Parker, 4:35.46
9 Claire Yerby, 4:36.01
10 Teagan Schein-Becker, 4:36.95
2026 Men’s USATF 1 Mile Road Championship
The men’s lineup featured an elite crop of milers including 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse, and Vince Ciattei, the 2-time defending Des Moines road mile champion. Nuguse and Ciattei were at or near the front the men’s column from the gun and looked convincing the entire way. Nuguse had a touch more gas in his tank as the finish line neared, earning first place by setting a course record mark of 3:54.06. Ciattei, who previously held the record, was not far behind as he joined Nuguse on Team USA with a runner-up result.
“The course was really fast, and it was such a fun race out here,” Nuguse explained. “I’m very happy with how I did and going to Copenhagen. There were a lot of good guys behind me, and I knew they were coming at me, but hearing the crowd…it felt really good.”
The Men’s USATF 1 Mile Road Championship top 10 is listed below.
1 Yared Nuguse, 3:54.06
2 Vince Ciattei, 3:54.62
3 Drew Hunter, 3:55.29
4 Waleed Suliman, 3:55.86
5 Dylan Jacobs, 3:56.05
6 Cooper Cawthra, 3:56.60
7 Brannon Kidder, 3:56.94
8 Jack Crull, 3:57.01
9 Ford Washburn, 3:59.03
10 Sam Ellis, 4:01.85
The 116th Drake Relays continue tomorrow night back on the campus of Drake University with the return of Ryan Crouser’s revolutionary World Shot Put Series. Roger Steen is back to defend his crown inside the historic Drake Fieldhouse with action slated to start at 6 p.m.
Drake Stadium will also see its first events of the season with the start of the decathlon and heptathlon. Several of today’s runners will be back on the Blue Oval this weekend for the World Athletics Continental Tour men’s 1,500 and women’s mile races.
