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Camel City Elite Races - Saturday, January 27, 2024
There has been a myth over the years that you can’t run fast on a 200 meter flat indoor track. The Camel City Elite Races are looking to put that myth to bed! What started as a showcase of how fast the track is at JDL Fast Track has quickly become a premier opportunity for college athletes to qualify for NCAAs and achieve personal bests, while being pulled along by some of the fastest pro athletes in the sport.
History: Women's 60m Hurdles Men's 60m Hurdles Women's 800m Men's 800m Women's Mile Men's Mile Women's 3000m Men's 3000m The Camel City Elite races began in 2013 with a single race – the men’s mile. That first year, JDL offered up $1500 in first place prize money with $500 bonuses to those athletes breaking the magical 4:00 barrier. Cory Leslie won the inaugural event in 3:57.81, which at the time was the fastest mile ever run indoors in the state of North Carolina. In 2014, the Camel City Crowd Fund was born and the races were expanded to include a women’s mile, and 800m and 3,000m events for both genders. Over $13,000 was raised for prize money, in addition to the nearly $25,000 put up by JDL Fast Track for additional prize money, appearance fees and travel expenses for the athletes. Nick Symmonds headlined the event in 2014. In 2015, we again expanded the event and awarded $38,000 in prize money, rabbits' fees and facility record bonuses. The event was headlined by Shannon Rowbury's 4:22.66 mile, which is the 9th fastest performance EVER indoors. There was also an epic battle in the men's mile that saw Cory Leslie prevail over Will Leer, Matt Elliott and Leo Manzano, setting a new indoor state record in the process. In the men's hurdle, Aleec Harris upset established stars David Oliver and Jason Richardson. 2016 saw a phenomenal event, featuring such track and field stars as Matthew Centrowitz, Ashton Eaton, Lolo Jones and Brianna Rollins. With prize money and bonuses that exceeded $60k, it was the richest Camel City Elite to date. Matthew Centrowitz shattered the facility record in the mile by running 3:54.02, while Garrett Heath destroyed the 3k record with a winning time of 7:48.48. Additionally, HS star Drew Hunter became the first HSer to run sub 8:00 indoors in the 3k with his national record of 7:59.33. On the women's side, Kerri Gallagher led two women under 9:00 for 3k, while Melissa Bishop set a new facility record in the women's 800. In the hurdles, Aleec Harris repeated for the men while Brianna Rollins tied the facility record for the women. 2017 was another exciting event. The highlight was Paul Chelimo's 7:45 wire-to-wire win in the men's 3k. Melissa Bishop returned to successfully defend her title in the women's 800m. Eliud Rutto of Middle Tennessee State became the first collegian to win a Camel City Elite race in the men's 800m. Other winners included Nate Brannen in the men's mile, Rachel Schneider in the women's mile and Sara Sutherland in the women's 3k. In 2018, over $75,000 in prize money was awarded, as prize money was increased to $6000 for first place. Edward Cheserek headlined the 2018 event and didn't disappoint. He ran 3:53.85 to break the facility record set in 2016 by Matthew Centrowitz. Paul Chelimo won the men's 3k and then came back to finish second in the mile with his first official sub-4 mile. But Rachel Schneider walked away with the biggest payday after winning both the 3k and the mile with only about 40 minutes of rest between the two races. 2019 saw two flat track "world records" set when Ajee' Wilson ran 1:59.26 for the women's 800 meters, followed by Clayton Murphy's 1:45.92 for the same distance. Although not "real" world records, these are the fastest times ever run at these distances on a 200 meter flat track. This adds to the women's mile record set by Shannon Rowbury of 4:22.66 back in 2015, giving JDL Fast Track three such records. In 2020, Jenny Simpson shattered the women's 3000m flat track world record by running 8:51.49. Another big momen in 2020 was Willy Fink upsetting Edward Cheserek in the men's mile to prevent the three-peat. Clayton Murphy also returned to defend his title in the men's 800. 2021 was a slightly different Camel City, with no fans in the facility due to Covid. But that didn't affect the action inside, as Rachel Schneider completed the 3k/mile double for the second time. Willy Fink defended his men's mile title and Finley McLear of Miami (OH) upset three pros to win the men's 800. 2022 saw the return of fans to the facility. The action on the track was again fierce! Elly Henes, in her first Camel City Elite as a pro, won the women's 3k/mile double. Sam Atkin ran the second fastest time in facility history in the men's 3k, and helped Antonio Lopez Segura of Virginia Tech to a collegiate facility record of 7:49! Olympian Charlie Grice of Great Britan won the men's mile to prevent Willy Fink from completing the three-peat. And Ajee' Wilson returned to the site of her flat track world record to win the women's 800. And Mexican national record holder Tonatiu Lopez won the men's 800. 2023: For 2023, we are will again be offering some of the biggest prize money of any indoor track in the U.S. First place will again be $6,000, second will be $4,000, third is $2,000, fourth will be $1,000, and then 5th through 8th will be $750, $500, $400 and $300, respectively. Stay tuned as we reveal additional athletes in the coming weeks! For information on how to become a corporate sponsor or contribute to the Camel City Crowd Fund, please email Craig Longhurst ([email protected]). We will have that information posted to the website in the coming weeks.
2024 CAMEL CITY ELITE SPONSORS
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