David Medaris
The winning times were almost as hot as the pavement itself at the Capitol Mile on Sunday.
The weather was perfect for Sunday afternoon's Capitol Mile run.
Perfect, that is, for spectators who were able to find a patch of shade.
With winds at about five miles per hour, temperatures well into the 80s and plenty of sun, conditions were a bit hot for the athletes competing in the Wisconsin Track Club's annual race around the Capitol Square in downtown Madison.
Starting from the Inn on the Park, the race course circled the Capitol counterclockwise for one and three-quarters laps -- Main Street to Pinckney to Mifflin to Carroll to Main to Pinckney to Mifflin -- before finishing in front of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.
Considering that the hill up Carroll renders this a course on which the world mile record will never be set, the winning times were almost as hot as the pavement itself.
In the women's open division, Breeda Willis, 27, of Stevens Point led from start to finish and triumphed by more than a minute, clocking 4 minutes, 56.8 seconds, as seen in this video clip. Wearing race number 4083, Anne Jungwirth, 33, was the top Madison woman in the open division, crossing the line at 6:05.7 to finish fourth.
Milwaukee's Tommy Schmitz, 23, won the men's open division in 4:21, enjoying a slimmer victory margin of nine seconds over a more tightly clustered field, as seen in a second video.
And as seen in a third clip, Janesville's Bill Gilmore, 47, led the men's masters division in 5:01.5. Wearing race number 4104 (watch close or you'll miss it), Mark Muehlhausen, 40, was the top Madison masters finisher, crossing the line in 5:13.1 to claim third. Onalaska's Donna Anderson, 47 (look for race number 4175), won the women's masters division in 6:33.6, edging Sun Prairie's Melanie McManus (race number 4025) by a little more than two seconds.
Complete race results, recaps, and a photo gallery for the Capitol Mile will be provided online by Wisconsin Track Club.
