DES MOINES — Two-time defending men's champion Vincent Ciattei returns to compete for his third straight and fourth career USATF 1 Mile Road Championship Tuesday at the Grand Blue Mile, the fourth stop on the 2026 USATF Running Circuit.
Ciattei won last year's race in 3:54.55 and was the 2024 champion with a time of 3:56.97. He won his first title in 2022 with a 4:03 clocking. A sub-3:50 miler on the track with a PB of 3:49.37 set at the Oslo Diamond League meet last June, Ciattei was third in the 1500 at the USATF Indoor Championships in March.
The top returning women's finisher from 2025 is Gracie Morris, who was third in 4:24.73. Morris has had a breakout year in 2026, helping Team USATF To a fifth-place finish in the mixed relay at the World Cross Country Championships in January before earning silver in the 1500 at the USATF Indoor Championships and placing seventh at the World Indoor Championships. She lowered her indoor PB in the mile to 4:23.83 at the Millrose Games and has also run 4:23.74 outdoors. Morris won the 5th Avenue Mile in New York City last year in 4:15.5.
American road and track mile record holder Yared Nuguse will be the biggest obstacle standing in the way of a Ciattei hat trick. Nuguse won the 5th Avenue Mile last year in 3:47.7 and his 3:43.97 in the mile on the track makes him the fourth fastest performer ever. The Olympic bronze medalist in the 1500 at Paris, Nuguse is also No. 2 on the all-time road mile world performer list with a 3:51.9 on a record-eligible course in Germany in 2024.
2025 runner-up Sam Ellis is back after a 3:54.93 last year, but he will be pushed to repeat that placing with challenges coming from Joe Waskom, a 3:51.90 performer in the mile who won NCAA 1500 crowns in 2022 and 2024 for Washington, and Wes Porter, a Virginia product who lowered his indoor mile PB to 3:50.37 in February and represented Team USATF in the mixed relay at the World Cross Country Championships.
Among the leading contenders in the women's race will be Eleanor Fulton, fifth last year and twice a World Cross Country Championships mixed relay competitor for the U.S. Fulton was fourth in the 5th Avenue Mile last fall. Angelina Ellis is another returning top 10 finisher from 2025, and she was fifth in 2024.
The USATF 1 Mile Road Championships will be streamed live at USATF.tv. Prize money totaling $50,000 is on offer, including $10,000 each for the men's and women's winners. There are record bonuses available, with $7500 for a world road record and $5000 for an American road record. Results will be available here.