Big Bang Mile and Science Festival

"Anticipating the preservation of the Holmdel Horn Antenna and the creation of Dr. Robert Wilson Park."

The Shore Athletic Club is proud to host the

🌌 The 5th ANNUAL BIG BANG MILE

Saturday, July 19, 2025,

RAIN or SHINE!
Bell Works in Holmdel, NJ

First 300 to register get a t-shirt!

PLEASE NOTE: This race is open to all types of runners and all age groups! Teams for the USATF-NJ 1 Mile Masters Team Championship competition will be declared using the normal process. That is, team captains will submit their rosters by e-mail to the timing company (CompuScore in this case) and to the USATF-NJ LDR Committee the day before the race. USATF-NJ will send out e-mail early next week announcing the race and providing the details for the roster submission process. The Big Bang Mile registration web site is where non-USATF-NJ teams are declared.

🕒 TENTATIVE EVENT SCHEDULE

• 7:00 AM: Bib and t-shirt pick up
• 8:15 AM: Community Run/Walk and U13 Mile
• 8:40 AM: Masters Men (ages 60+) Mile - part of USATF-NJ Masters Men Team Championship
• 9:00 AM: Masters Women (ages 40+) Mile - part of USATF-NJ Masters Women Team Championship

The schedule of each heat will be slightly adjusted on event day depending on the entries for each race.

🏆 AWARDS

• USATF-NJ Open Runners Awards: Top 3 runners in each of the Open Men and Open Women Mile races will be awarded . Open awardees need not be members of USATF-NJ.
• Masters (age 40+) Runners Awards: Top 3 masters men and masters women based on age grading, based on their respective Masters Mile races (regardless of what Masters race participating in), will be awarded .
• Age Group Awards: For any runners (USATF-NJ Member or not), as an individual to be eligible for the Age Group awards, you must run in the Race for your respective Age.
• Cash Awards: $200 Cash Bonus for a winning time under 4:10 for the men or under 4:50 for the women.

📝 REGISTRATION

• $30: Early bird discount for all races until March 31.
• $35: All races from April 1 to June 30. Price Increase to $40 on July 1!
• Registration closes: Friday, July 18, 2025
• No registration: on race day

📖 THE STORY BEHIND THE BIG BANG MILE

The Bell Works building was once a primary location for Bell Laboratories. “Bell Labs” attracted top-notch scientists to conduct basic research that might advance telephony. Two such scientists, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, studied radio signals from space in support of the Telstar project. In 1964, to their surprise, they observed a background noise coming from every direction in the sky. Wherever they pointed their radio telescope, they measured the same frequency and strength of microwave radiation. Puzzled, Penzias and Wilson conferred with colleagues. Princeton University astronomer Robert Dicke revealed they had found evidence for the Big Bang. This is a theory that the universe started with an explosion 13.8 billion years ago. For their important contribution to science, Penzias and Wilson were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1978.

The radio telescope used by Penzias and Wilson still stands today. It is located on top of Crawford Hill, about 2 miles northwest of the Bell Works facility. A nearby plaque explains its significance. It is worth a visit. In fact, Holmdel Township has purchased the 30 acres that surround the antenna and will convert it into Dr. Robert Wilson Park.

The Shore Athletic Club, New Jersey's oldest running club, dedicates the Big Bang Mile Race to scientists everywhere. We hope that runners draw inspiration from this story to learn more about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and perhaps even pursue a STEM career. Aim high!

For more information and to register, visit the official race page: Big Bang Mile Registration.