Millennium Mile
"May all your miles be downhill with the wind at your back!"

John Mortimer proved an impressive prognosticator yesterday. In fact, he was right on the money.

The Union Leader Millennium Mile organizer picked former Hampstead resident Matt Downin as the early pace setter in the mile-long race from Londonderry High to just past Mack’s Apples. Downin didn’t disappoint by getting out to a quick lead.

Mortimer predicted Derry’s Geoff Nickerson as a top-three finisher. Nickerson managed third.

And Mortimer never hesitated to pick Matt Downin’s older brother, Andy, as the race favorite. Andy Downin, the nation’s 1,500-meter champion, did just that, taking the top money prize by placing ahead of 259 other finishers on a cold race day.

Downin, 29, was his usual self, using a quick burst at the end to break the three-year-old event’s record. Downin finished at 3 minutes, 51 seconds, just a second in front of brother Matt, and two ticks ahead of Nickerson.

“That’s what I do, it’s the way I always race,” the elder Downin said of his race-ending kick. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll have it at the end, but I always get enough to turn it on.”

Downin beat out an impressive field that included six former Foot Locker national finalists, including Matt Downin, Mortimer, Tony Truax, Dave Barrett, Jason Vanderhoof and Todd Swenson (Thirty-two high school runners nationwide are picked as Foot Locker finalists each year).

None could get a significant lead over Andy Downin at the start, making it close to impossible to beat him down the stretch.

“I tried to put on the gas to lose him, but I couldn’t do it,” Matt Downin said. “He’s pretty fast. Obviously not many runners can come out and beat him at the end.”

Kara Molloy had every woman beat at the end, finishing in a personal-best 4:41. A three-year veteran of the race, Molloy beat women’s runner-up Maribel Sanchez by 11 seconds.

“I went out well,” Molloy said. “I’m very pleased. This was a good field. I couldn’t have asked for a better time.”

Surprise third-place female finisher was Milford 12-year-old Nicole Slane. The shy Slane was hoping for a sub-five minute mile on the downhill course, and she squeezed in at 4:58.

“She just loves it,” said Judy Slane, Nicole’s mother. “She’s been running since she was six. This is her third time here.”

Slane wore a big smile at the awards’ ceremony, especially after Mortimer, a seven-time Michigan All-American, praised her effort.

“I certainly wasn’t that fast when I was 12,” Mortimer chuckled.

The event was praised despite cold temperatures that caused runners and spectators to shiver before and after the race.

“This is a great time, just getting together with good friends,” said Joe LeMar.

LeMar, a Brockton (Mass.) High graduate, competed with Andy Downin in high school competition. LeMar lost his lower leg because of a tumor a decade ago, but a prosthetic leg allows him to do what he loves to do — run.

“I knew I could get back into running,” LeMar said. “The only difference is, instead of putting on shoes, I put on the prosthetic leg.”

LeMar’s impressive effort was one of many yesterday.

Darren Shearer, of Gainesville, Fla., was the fourth and last runner to finish in under four minutes. Shearer (3:59) was first in the male 20-29 age group, in front of Keene’s Elijah Barrett (4:01) and Sandown’s Jason Vanderhoof (4:02). Litchfield’s John Kennedy and Dover’s Tony Truax finished second and third, respectively, in the male 1-19 age group behind winner Ben Pollock of Westford, Mass.

Manchester’s Ashley Vance was third among females 1-19. Concord’s Kevin Beck, New Hampshire’s top finisher in last spring’s Boston Marathon, was a winner in the male 30-39 age bracket at 4:26.