Mile race between Malcolm Gladwell, Chris Chavez set for May 21 in NYC

What was teased as a potential matchup is now official: Malcolm Gladwell and Chris Chavez will race head to head in a “mile showdown” on May 21 in New York City. The two journalists have been running together in recent months, and they’ll line up to race the NYC Qualifier, the final event of the Trials of Miles series (which has been organized by Chavez’s own Citius Mag). The run won’t be as fast as the rest of the races that night, but it could be a thrilling and close affair, which will make for must-watch action. 

No excuses! It’s on in 16 days! https://t.co/ZxzhjkLgtz

— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) May 5, 2021

Why Gladwell will win

Today, Gladwell is known for his many books and his popular podcast, Revisionist History, but before he started his career in journalism, he was just a skinny kid from Canada with big hair and a love for running. He got into the sport while growing up outside Waterloo, Ont., and Gladwell soon matured into one of the province’s top young middle-distance runners. He won the Ontario 1,500m championships when he was 14, and in university, he got his PB down to 3:55. 

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Although he put less emphasis on training in the years following his 3:55 lifetime best, Gladwell continued to run, and he has competed at the NYRR 5th Avenue Mile in NYC on multiple occasions. His most recent result from the race was a 5:11 from 2017, which he ran at the age of 54. 

Gladwell hasn’t raced in a while, but he’s probably still got the same competitive fire in his belly that helped him to so many successes as a junior runner. Plus, as he has shown on Strava in recent weeks (such as a workout that featured back-to-back 5:15 miles), he’s still capable of throwing down some quick times. 

Why Chavez will win

As Gladwell pointed out on Twitter, he is more than twice as old as the 27-year-old Chavez. We know people say that age is just a number, but it has to be considered when looking at a race as short as the mile. Last October, Chavez ran a 5:09 mile PB, and he has said he’s shooting for a sub-five-minute result soon. If he can break five minutes, it might be enough to take the win. 

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One factor that could come into play is Chavez’s recent training. Just a month ago, he completed the Goggins Challenge, running 77K in two days. To prepare for this, he was likely running much longer than Gladwell has been, and his legs might still be accustomed to longer ultra distances rather than something short and snappy like the mile. Like Gladwell, though, Chavez will likely be pumped for this race, and with all eyes on him, he’ll definitely show up ready to race. 

We don’t know who has the edge, but we do know this will be an awesome event to watch. Anyone interested will be able to see the race (and the other elite events that will follow the Gladwell-Chavez showdown) on the Citius Mag YouTube channel.