2011 SoCal USATF Road Mile Championships

The final race on the docket was billed as a clash between two recent sub-4 minute milers, former El Toro High School (and Arizona State) standout Brandon Bethke and Hollywood resident Christian Hesch. The race took place down the #2 runway at the El Toro Marine Air Station in Irvine.

The anticipated sub-4 minute race failed to materialize as the field was content to follow Luis Ibarra through splits of 59, 2:02, and 3:04.

The race came down to a sprint with 150 meters to go, where Hesch (right) took a two-step lead on Bethke, only to see Bethke quickly reverse the tables.

Bethke (left) and Hesch were neck and neck with less than 100 meters to go.

With both athletes side by side in the final 50 meters it looked as though the decision to bring in photofinish timing was a wise one.

Bethke cracked with only 20m to go, allowing Hesch to take the victory by only .22 seconds–4:01.02 to 4:01.24.