Thirty-year-old Andover, Mass. resident Sean Hyland paced a massive crowd of 1,365 finishers in the 16th annual Millennium Mile Road Race in Londonderry in chilly weather on New Year’s Day.
The Bay State man won the popular annual race with his finishing time of 4 minutes and 8.2 seconds, with 21-year-old Manchester resident Joe St. Pierre finishing a close second (4:10.4) and 25-year-old Lincoln, Neb., runner Jake McDougle coming in third (4:14.3).
“Sean had a late surge with 200 yards to go to win. He’s a great kid,” said Millennium Mile race co-founder and Millennium Running founder John Mortimer, who was a star runner at Londonderry High School and the University of Michigan before going into coaching at the collegiate level. Mortimer recruited Hyland for Boston College while coaching at BC years ago.
Mortimer also had a personal connection to the female winner of the 2015 race.
The top female finisher was former Boston College athlete and New London resident Jennifer Mortimer – wife of John Mortimer – who sprinted across the finish line 19th overall with her time of 4:49.5.
“It was great to see my wife, Jennifer, win her second Millennium Mile,” said John. “She won the first as Jennifer Kramer when she was in college. She is super-talented and one fast mom of two!”
There were also five Londonderry residents who won their respective age divisions in the race. That impressive handful of racers included Matt Griffin in the boys’ 11-year-old grouping, Bethany Mayo in the 30-39-year-old women’s division, Andrew Young in the boys’ 10-year-old class, Linsey Gregoire in the girls’ 8-year-old class, and Caroline Leone in the girls’ 10-year-old grouping.
John Mortimer and his close buddies Matt and Andy Downing began the Millennium Mile race as a lark on New Year’s Day 1999.
A mere 127 runners took part in that first event, but it has grown tremendously, setting a record for participants last year on New Year’s Day 2014 with more than 1,600 runners making the sprint south down Mammoth Road from in front of the central fire department to the finish line just beyond the Mack’s Apples retail store.
Part of the proceeds from the annual event go to the Jack and June Mortimer Memorial Scholarship – named after John’s late mom and dad – which is given to one college-bound student/athlete from New Hampshire each year.
Teens from both Londonderry High and Derry’s Pinkerton Academy have won the scholarship in the past, as have others from different parts of the Granite State.
“I can’t believe, and I’m so humbled, that a small fun event in 1999 has grown into a New Year’s Day tradition for 15,000-plus over the last 16 years,” said John Mortimer.