Willis home for Petone mile

Nick Willis is coming home to compete in an exhibition international mile race along Petone's Jackson Street on the evening of Tuesday, 10 March.

Other starters already confirmed for the race are Canadian Nate Brannen, who won silver behind Willis in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games 1500m final, and Mark Fountain, who was third in that same race. The photo (right) shows that finish.

Willis, the Beijing Olympics bronze medallist who was named in the New Year Honours list, said from his base in the USA that he's "really excited about coming home to the Hutt to compete in a top level event. As a kid I remember doing a skateboard race down Jackson street, and I grew up going to Petone Baptist Church right round the corner. Hopefully we get some calm conditions, or a big tail wind, and we can run a really fast time."

The evening will also include several build up races including kids, veterans and novelty races, including a skateboard mile and possibly a celebrity mile, and a relay attempt by the Lower Hutt Junior Athletic club to break Nick's fastest mile time of 3m50.66.

Willis told event organiser Aaron Cardie he'd love to see it grow into an annual fixture. "If we get large crowds, the event will continue to grow, and I will be able to come home and race against the best in the world in our own backyard each year."

Cardie, who ran competitively for the Paraparaumu Athletics Club and now produces Newstalk ZB's Scoreboard show, says the original idea was that the mile would run from Shandon Golf Course. But Willis preferred a start/finish from outside Lone Star, with a turn at the Pak 'N Save roundabout on the basis more spectators were likely to line the street, and they'd get two looks at the passing runners, adding to the excitement.

Willis intends competing in two top indoor races in the US in February and after the Petone exhibition mile, "I'll be gunning for a sub 3m50s mile in Christchurch on March 13th, when I race the world's fastest miler of 2008, Andrew Baddeley of Great Britian. So this race down Jackson Street will be very important for me to help get me ready for a record attempt."

Mayor David Ogden, a keen runner himself, says with the street's verandahs there should be a good crowd whatever the weather. Wanganui has its Mayoral Mile and Mr Ogden also sees scope for building a Petone running event into a high-profile annual feature - and one that's "quite different", being run along a city street with a tight run at halfway.

Milestone Financial Sevices has secured naming rights for the feature race. Cardie says this sponsorship was crucial. With a race purse of as much as $5,000, it has also allowed Willis to entice other world class milers down under.