March 22nd 2019 is a day that will forever be known throughout Milford High School and the world as the day of the Race of the Century. On this day at 2:15pm on the MHS track, two contenders approached the starting line; ready to run for their pride, their country and bragging rights, of course. These two brave competitors were Kevin Mozel, representing his home country of Canada, and Brendan T. Dingman also representing his home country, the U.S.A.

However this epic race began two weeks earlier at the DECA competition in Detroit. In exclusive interviews with these two legends, the origins of the race were revealed. When asked how the race came about Mozel claims, “We were at DECA and Dingman called me out saying he could beat me in a one mile race, so we agreed to race and with two weeks of training.” However Dingman seemed to have a slightly different explanation, “Kevin was running his mouth about being so much faster than me, so I told him to save it for the track.” Although the details of how the race came to be are still unclear, it was very clear that tensions between our runners were high.

Word of the race spread, and within just a few days, everyone knew about The Race of the Century. Our contestants became famous almost over night. “School tends to get a little dull, so when students heard about the race of the century, that caught their attention. I had people who I had never talked to in my life coming up to me and asking about it. At my work, smoke street BBQ, I even had coworkers from Lakeland asking me about the race,” said Dingman. Talk of the race was everywhere, from Twitter to the classrooms, but with only a week before the race, time for training was running short.

The runners stepped up their training in order to get the advantage on one another. “I ran every day the week before because I forgot we were actually racing, so I actually only had a week to train,” said Mozel.

“I didn’t train until 3 days before where I ran 3 miles to work out the kinks and break in my old running shoes. Then I ran a mile the night before,” Dingman replied when asked about his rigorous training. With the night before the race upon us, our contestants were finally ready for The Race.

Race Day. The school was covered in posters promoting the race, students couldn’t sit still, talk of The Race was more prominent than ever. Then, at 2:03 students began pouring out of the school and heading for the track. However, our runners had not yet arrived, as they were using their last few minutes for final preparation. “On the day of The Race I did not prepare at all. I did not stretch. I just jumped around a little and ran the race,” stated Mozel when asked about his pre-race preparation. When asked the same question Dingman replied, “I drank a Red Bull ten minutes before the race hoping to energize, (which wasn’t the best idea as I threw it all up while I was driving home)”. At 2:15, the runners approached the track Mozel, a Canadian flag around his shoulders, and Dingman, sporting U.S.A. pants and shirt. At 2:20 the runners took their positions at the starting line. The spectators, now numbering well over 100, crowded around the starting line, “three, two, one, GO!”. The Race of the Century was off. It was neck and neck for three laps, back and forth, Mozel and Dingman, U.S.A. and Canada. It was the fourth lap however, where things took a turn. Rounding the third turn, Mozel turned on the jets, putting as much distance between him and his competitor as he could. Coming around the final turn it was clear who our champion would be. Crossing the finish line with a time of 5 minutes and 54 seconds was Mozel, winning for his country and going down in the history books as the winner of The Race of the Century.

With the epic race now several weeks in the past, students have been asking one question, “Will there be another race?” Post-race interviews with the runners produced mixed results, “There will not be another race,” Mozel firmly stated. However in an interview with Dingman, he replied “There will be a rematch at the class of 2019’s 30-year reunion”. Although the future for our runners is unclear, one thing is for sure, they will live on forever in the history books and in our hearts.