Hundreds of runners race in the inaugural Lincoln Mile, in photos

DELAWARE — Former Delaware City Manager Tom Homan and former Delaware Hayes High School Cross Country Coach Jim Bibler’s dream of having a race in the city became reality Saturday night.

The inaugural Lincoln Mile saw 329 people from four different heats cross the finish line just beyond the bridge at Mingo Park. Things turned out better than expected as Bibler previously told Delaware Source he hoped 200-250 runners would register.

With the help of Emily Richards and Jake Edwards, who both are Hayes graduates now turned professional athletes, the race went off without a hitch and drew in talent from all over Ohio.

The group hopes to have many more Lincoln Miles in the future and so does the Elite Men Mile’s winner Mark Shannon of Twinsburg.

Shannon claimed a $500 prize from the fourth and final heat of the evening with a time of 3 minutes and 56 seconds, which was also the fastest overall.

When asked if he’d be back next year to defend his title, Shannon enthusiastically said he would.

“Last week was the Cleveland mile race, The Guardian Mile, and I ran in that and was going to call it a season,” Shannon said. “But this was perfect timing one week later. It worked out really nicely to do the one in Cleveland and then come down and do this one.”

Below are the results from each heat and a photo gallery. Photos credited to Jack Slemenda / Delaware Source.

Heat 1: High School Challenge Mile