Emsley Carr Mile in late switch from Manchester to Stirling

Historic men’s race and Millicent Fawcett Mile move from North-West England to Scotland and will be held at the Monument Mile Classic on Saturday

After a summer of uncertainty about its venue, the Emsley Carr Mile will now be held at the Monument Mile Classic in Stirling instead of the Manchester International on Saturday (Aug 30).

AW reported earlier this month that the historic race, plus its female equivalent – the Millicent Fawcett Mile, would be held as part of the Manchester International at SportCity. But with just four days to go the races have moved to the Monument Mile Classic in Scotland.

“We’re proud to host it and grateful to be part of the history,” Monument Mile organiser Michael Wright told AW.

However, Wright has a limited amount of time to prepare after only being invited to stage it on Tuesday (Aug 26). His team were also initially frustrated to hear via AW that the prestigious races were going to be staged in Manchester when their Monument Mile Classic was happening on the same day and already had World Athletics Challenger status.

The iconic race dates back to 1953 and features a list of winners that reads like a who’s who of middle distance running, including Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Hicham El Guerrouj, Peter Elliott, John Walker, Dave Moorcroft, Gordon Pirie, Derek Ibbotson, Jim Ryun, Kip Keino and Said Aouita.

In 2019 by World Athletics the race was awarded a Heritage plaque for its historical importance. Among other things, part of its appeal is that all winners must sign a large Emsley Carr Mile book moments after their victory.

At the start of this season the date and venue of the Emsley Carr Mile was not known. The Diamond League in London was ruled out when Spencer Barden, the meet director, told AW in April that London would definitely feature a men’s 1500m, not mile. The British Milers’ Club told AW they did not have plans to host it either.

There was even an idea that it could be held at the same University of Birmingham meeting that staged the world 10,000m trials in June, although that did not come to fruition. However, UKA insisted it would go ahead toward the end of the season with the Manchester International on August 30 eventually chosen to stage it, much to the Monument Mile Classic’s annoyance.

The mile races at the Manchester International did not draw many entries, though, which partly led to the Monument Mile Classic being invited at late notice to stage…