For decades the mile has been a proving ground in distance running, but its legacy has mostly been written by men.
The four-minute mile? Iconic.
But when Diane Leather became the first woman to break five minutes, the world barely noticed. Women’s records have never carried the same cultural weight. That’s where Sharada Maddox comes in. As co-founder and race director of the Crenshaw Mile, she’s not just organizing a race — she’s asserting women’s place in the legacy of the mile and making sure that Crenshaw is part of the story.
