INDIANAPOLIS -- The USATF 1 Mile Road Championships presented by Toyota return to Drake Relays’ annual Grand Blue Mile, with some of the world’s most elite runners competing for a national title and prize money of $15,000. The Championship, a part of the USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota, will be contested on Wednesday, April 21st in conjunction with the 111th Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom and the virtual Grand Blue Mile presented by Wellmark® Blue Cross® and Blue Shield®. Des Moines is the host city for the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships through 2023. Last year’s event took place on August 29, 2020, during the Blue Oval Showcase at Drake University. The Blue Oval Showcase was the first major track and field event contested in the United States since the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic; the invitation-only competition was closed to the general public and held under strict health and safety protocols. Sam Prakel won the men’s road mile with a time of 3:58.30, the second-fastest time in the event’s history; Emily Lipari won the women’s division, finishing in 4:29.30, the fastest road mile ever run by a woman in the state of Iowa. In preparation for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June, both Prakel and Lipari will defend their USATF 1 Mile titles on the Blue Oval. Both Prakel and Lipari plan to stay in Des Moines for the 1500 meters at the Drake Relays presented by Xtream on Saturday, April 24. This year’s USATF 1 Mile Road Championships will start on the campus of Drake University, at Painted Street, and will finish on the Blue Oval inside Drake Stadium. This invitation-only event will be a companion to the virtual Grand Blue Mile presented by Wellmark; professional milers will compete at Drake while amateur runners from Des Moines and across the nation will complete a one-mile run or walk on their own.