The 2026 Wilkie Mile took place on Tuesday 30th June, attracting an outstanding field of 50 participants!
The race was first inaugurated by Ron Wilkinson in the 1970’s as a veterans’ handicap race on the old cinder track at King’s College. It has had various venues and formats through the years but has been settled back on the tarmac surface at King’s College since 2017.
Since then, this was the fastest winning time recorded, set by Charlie Reed in 4:39, who was also part of the victorious relay time that broke the four-minute barrier for the first time. Very apt, at a venue used in the past for training by Roger Bannister. The race was closely contested, with James Laing finishing second in 4:40 and Luke Sery taking third in 4:42.
The Over Six Minute Race was won by David Smith in 6:11, followed by Jason Steel (6:17) and Patrick Griffin (6:19).
The Mile Relay was won by the team of Luke Sery (59.6), Jack Kerr (59.6), Josh Hounsell (62.2) and Charlie Reed (58.3), who made history by becoming the first team to break the four-minute barrier!
Lastly, the “Watchless Guess Your Time” race produced an astonishingly close finish. Peter Miller predicted 7:45 and stopped the clock at 7:44.9 – just 0.1 seconds away! James Laing was also remarkably accurate, predicting 6:00 and finishing in 5:59.4, just 0.6 seconds from his target.
A huge thank you to our officials, Gavin Collett, Sharon Talbot and Phil Welch, for all their hard work in hosting the event, recording the results and publishing them so efficiently. Events like the Wilkie Mile wouldn’t be possible without their support.
