Bentonville's Brian Burns gave the spectators in Huntsville's Milton Frank Stadium their money's worth Saturday night as he won the RunningLane Track Championships boys' Mile with a time of 4:00.02.
"Winning at RunningLane was really special for me," Burns said. "The environment is exciting and creates a great atmosphere for the athletes. It was a perfect way to kick off my summer racing season, and getting both a win and a fast time gives me a lot of confidence moving forward."
While Burns'\ time was a fraction of a second off of the time he was looking for, he knows a sub 4:00 is imminent.
"Missing the four-minute barrier by such a small margin again definitely stung, but it also showed me where my fitness is right now. If I keep competing against the best and continue racing to win, I know the time will come."
It's the third-straight post season meet where Burns, who signed with the University of North Carolina earlier this year, has flirted with a sub 4:00 mile. In late February, Burns ran a 4:00.38 indoors at Saucony Battle for Boston. In March, Burns ran a 4:00.09 in a runner-up finish at New Balance Nationals Indoors.
Bentonville head coach Mike Power was impressed with how Burns won the race.
"Brian looked amazing and ran not only a fast time, but with the maturity and patience he'll need going into more races this summer," Power said. "Winning at RunningLane was the perfect way to start his summer competition."
Next up for Burns will be the HOKA Festival of Miles in St. Louis, Mo. on Saturday, June 4th.
