HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I, December 13 — The race comes at a typically quiet time of the year for middle distance runners, and the mixed-sex pursuit format makes it a bit of a novelty, but the athletes who line up in the Kalakāua Merrie Mile road race don’t go through the motions. While many of them spend the days leading up to the event lounging poolside or at the beach, the rich prize money and “battle of the sexes” bragging rights typically produce intense racing.
This year, nobody took it more seriously than Sinclaire Johnson, who set a road mile American Record of 4:21.66 while winning the overall title. Johnson — who set the track AR at 4:16.32 at the London Diamond League in July — pushed hard from the start, breaking away from the women’s field quickly while maintaining an insurmountable advantage over a strong men’s pack that started 31 seconds behind. (The time gap has varied over the years since the Honolulu Marathon companion race started in 2016, and last year’s 32-second advantage produced the first ever win by an athlete from the women’s field, Nikki Hiltz.)
The men had asked their pacer for an aggressive early pace, which spurred Johnson to her front-running strategy. And the flat out-and-back course, steps from the beach in Waikiki, features a hairpin turn just past the halfway mark that allowed her the chance to see that she had a sizeable cushion. That said, she suspected that someone — of any gender — might outkick her.
“I figured that I was probably going to come back to them at some point, and it seemed like that never happened, so that was a pleasant surprise,” she said.
Johnson earned a $10,000 prize to go with her AR, which eclipsed Krissy Gear’s 4:23.98 from the USATF road mile champs in Des Moines in April.
“I thought I was in 4:24/4:25 shape, so that time was very surprising, in a good way,” she said. “Part of my goal this year is really trying to be fearless in races. And there’s no better place to practice that than in a low-key road mile. So today I was fearless and it paid off.”
Hiltz (4:24.50) took 2nd overall, while Josh Hoey, fresh off a 600-meter World Indoor Record in Boston a week earlier, broke free from the men’s pack late to take 3rd overall, in 3:54.77.
“The road mile is always really tough to judge, because we’re so used to running on the track,” said Hoey, who added that he wasn’t surprised to see Johnson set an ambitious pace. “You don’t have too much to lose, it’s a preseason race, you might as well go for it. It was fun to be a part of that.”
Susan Ejore-Sanders (4:26.47) was 4th overall (3rd among the women), followed by Hobbs Kessler (3:56.21) and Yared Nuguse (3:57.25).
For Johnson, the race capped a year in which she remained injury-free, an issue that has plagued her in the past. She trains solo in Portland, Oregon, coached by her fiancé, Craig Nowak. In addition to her American Records, she was the runner-up to Hiltz in the 1500 at the USATF Championships both indoors and out, and placed 13th at September’s World Championships in Tokyo.
“I’m in a different position this fall having had a full year of training and racing,” Johnson said a few days before the race. “It’s been surprising, in a good way, to see the fitness come back so quickly and have a whole new level of base with having a full year of consistency.… This is the end of the year, but it’s kind of opening up the 2026 racing season.”
MERRIE MILE MEN’S RESULTS
Road Mile: 1. Josh Hoey (US) 3:54.77; 2. Hobbs Kessler (US) 3:56.21; 3. Yared Nuguse (US) 3:57.25; 4. Festus Lagat (Ken) 3:57.80;
5. Geordie Beamish (NZ) 3:58.17; 6. Nico Young (US) 3:58.25; 7. Vincent Ciattei (US) 3:58.28; 8. Donavan Brazier (US) 3:58.80 PR; 9. Oliver Hoare (Aus) 3:59.44 PR.
MERRIE MILE WOMEN’S RESULTS
1. Sinclaire Johnson (US) 4:21.66 AR (old AR 4:23.98 Krissy Gear [HOKA] ’25);
2. Nikki Hiltz (US) 4:24.50; 3. Susan Ejore-Sanders (Ken) 4:26.47; 4. Weini Kelati (US) 4:29.83; 5. Nozomi Tanaka (Jpn) 4:30.04;
6. Dani Jones (US) 4:31.94; 7. Sage Hurta-Klecker (US) 4:35.13; 8.Heather MacLean (US) 4:35.83; 9. Emily Mackay (US) 4:36.00.
