O’Sullivan
last of great milers
This could be
By Pat Bigold
his final Waikiki race
Star-BulletinNo active runner has broken the 4-minute mark in the mile more times than Ireland's Marcus O'Sullivan. It's 98 and counting for O'Sullivan, 35, who will compete in his fourth straight Nike P.L.A.Y. Waikiki Mile on Dec. 13.
O'Sullivan, "the last of the great milers," said last night from his home in Philadelphia that he will retire after he gets his 100th sub-4. Only Steve Scott and John Walker, who have retired, have accomplished that feat. Scott, who will be an observer here next week, tops the list with 136.
"Unfortunately, Waikiki is on the road and you can't count road miles," O'Sullivan said.
But if all goes well, the man from County Cork will hit the century mark in February in the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden.
O'Sullivan holds the indoor record with 46 sub-4 miles. His best time is 3:50.09. He is third outdoors (52), where his best is 3:51.64.
The 5-foot-9, 132-pounder has run two sub-4 miles at Waikiki (1994 and 1995), finishing second both times. He had a 4-flat last year, when he finished fourth.
O'Sullivan bemoans the fact that the mile is becoming a dinosaur in a metric world. The 1,500 meters has become the more widely used standard.
"It's harder and harder to find track mile events to run," said O'Sullivan, who said he has had to organize his own races. "But I regret it because the mile is much more identifiable to the average person on the street."
O'Sullivan, a former Villanova star, said he might consider running a farewell mile in his native Ireland, even after he reaches his 100th sub-4.
"That might be arranged," he said. "There's an old indoor track in Tipperary -- the only indoor track we have in Ireland. And I don't think a sub-4 minute mile has ever been run in Ireland on an indoor track."
O'Sullivan is a former world record-holder in the 1,500 meters (1988) and still holds the Irish 2,000-meter record.
"I've enjoyed my career, and the thing I will miss the most by far is an event like this (Waikiki Mile)," he said.
The men's and women's races begin at mid-afternoon at the corner of Kalakaua and Kapahulu avenues. The turnaround point for the out-and-back course is the International Market Place.
"It's the atmosphere, the way we're treated, the camaraderie, and the spectators -- the way they come off the beach and are hanging off the balconies to watch," he said. "There's a euphoric feeling about finishing this race."
He also likes the quality of the field.
"They put together a good race for the people," he said. "They go after names and they go after depth."
O'Sullivan's competition this year will include U.S. 5,000-meter record-holder Bob Kennedy, Steve Holman, the top-ranked American at 1,500 meters, Seneca Lassiter, the NCAA and United States of America Track and Field 1,500-meter champion, recent NCAA cross-country runner-up Kevin Sullivan and defending Waikiki champion Graham Hood, Canada's top 1,500-meter runner.
"With all those distance runners in the race, we'll have to go out hard to keep the race honest," said O'Sullivan.
His main concern is Lassiter, the fast-rising, 20-year-old University of Arkansas prodigy. Lassiter has a strong kick and must be challenged in the early going.
Will this be O'Sullivan's last competitive race in Hawaii?
"There's a part of me that wants to return there in superb shape next year after I retire and do it all again," he said.
