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For candidates, it's a different kind of raceBy KEVIN GRAY residential candidates quite literally may be running toward the New Hampshire primary in the ninth annual Millennium Mile, scheduled a week from today in Londonderry. Organizers of the one-mile race have been in contact with each campaign, and this year's event promises to be a political potpourri just nine days before the primary. Instead of Meet the Press, candidates can attempt to Beat the Press on a one-mile jog down Mammoth Road, past Londonderry High and Mack's Apples. Millennium Mile co-founder John Mortimer, a graduate of Londonderry High School, has been encouraged by responses from every campaign. "They can't commit right now. They have to wait and see how the polls on a daily basis in Iowa," Mortimer said. "People from their campaigns are certainly willing to be involved. And if schedules work out, presidential candidates themselves may be there." Last year, more than 800 runners and walkers registered for the New Hampshire Union Leader-sponsored event, which benefits the Jack & June Mortimer Memorial Scholarship Fund. Next Sunday's race begins at 2 p.m. "We've had Olympians, national champions, Canadian record holders. Hopefully we can get a future President -- if not a past President," Mortimer said. That's right, organizers are hopeful President Bill Clinton will be lacing up his running shoes if Sen. Hillary Clinton can't make the trip. Millennium Mile race sponsor Susan Ragon, of Cambridge, Mass., two years ago organized a road race in Washington and enticed Bill Clinton to attend. His wife certainly would qualify for the Millennium Mile record books. "She definitely would be fastest First Lady," Mortimer, a former University of Michigan All-America long distance now coaching at Kentucky. As for the rest of the field, Sen. Barack Obama is viewed as a favorite among potential candidates in the race. Could Obama pull ahead of Clinton in the polls with a strong showing? "He's got that thin, slender physique of a distance runner," Mortimer said. John Edwards? It might be tough for the former vice presidential candidate to keep pace. "Being a Carolinian, I think he might be a little intimidated by the cold weather. Kind of like the early polling results. He looks like a million dollars warming up in the gym, then realizes how cold it is in New Hampshire," Mortimer said. Sen. John McCain, an energetic 71-year-old, could bring the Straight Walk Express down Mammoth Road. Mortimer expects McCain would be the fastest senior, with Mitt Romney a darkhorse in the field. "Romney's a fairly fit guy and has that Olympic-caliber background. I don't know. Obama might have his hands full," Mortimer said. More than 400 participants have pre-registered for MM9, and organizers expect another field of 800-plus if weather cooperates. Early registration of $10 for adults and $5 for children ends Friday. Adults pay $15 on race day. The race has grown to the point where sponsorships pay for race expenses. Of every athlete that signs up, 100 percent goes directly into the scholarship. The fund was created to help defray tuition costs of a New Hampshire or Massachusetts high school senior who is becoming a student-athlete in college. |
Millennium Mile |