Ingen

Kyle Merber and Erik van Ingen will be part of an elite field Saturday night in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012

Merber, a senior at Columbia, and van Ingen, a senior at Binghamton, are sub-four-minute milers who harbor Olympic dreams, and their friendly rivalry dates to their days as schoolboy standouts—Merber at Half Hollow Hills West High School on Long Island, van Ingen at Marathon High School in central New York.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012

Van Ingen said his goal was to tap into something deeper about the meaning of long-distance running.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012

Binghamton University Erik van Ingen, seen here at the America East Conference indoor championships, will run at the Millrose Games on Saturday.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012

When Merber, van Ingen and three of their friends trained together in rural Maine for five weeks this summer, van Ingen filmed the entire experience.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012

"I don't think it was that Spartan," van Ingen said.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012

Merber and van Ingen were joined by Riley Masters, a two-time All-American at Maine; Chris Derrick, a Stanford senior and one of the country's top distance runners; and Mark Feigen, a Columbia junior who has a personal best of 4:04.86 in the mile.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012

Van Ingen espoused the virtues of high-volume mileage.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012

Van Ingen wanted to replicate that adventure—that romantic ideal of the quest for excellence.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012

"You don't want a bunch of fluff," said van Ingen, a cinema major.

Milers in Step With One Another Scott Cacciola 2012