15-year-old 3:58.35 Miler From New Zealand Bringing Talents to 2025 Arcadia Invitational to Race America's Top High Schoolers in Legendary 3,200 Race

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

Photos by Michael Dawson/Athletics New Zealand

The Arcadia Invitational has reached far beyond its American borders over the years.

Athletes from as far as Canada, Mexico, Australia, Ireland, Argentina, New Zealand and Brazil have made their to way to the “Home of National Records.” Some of which have gone on to compete at the Olympic Games.

But in terms of accomplishments and world-wide recognition, none of those international athletes have the resume that Sam Ruthe is bringing to this year’s meet.

The 15-year-old New Zealander, who has broken four-minutes for the mile in 2025, will be flying out to Los Angeles this week for  Arcadia’s legendary 3,200-meter race.

“I’m just so lucky to go to Arcadia and race in LA,” Ruthe said. “For me, it is the end of my season, and it has been a long one. My coach stripped out some of my racing in the season so we could make it a bit longer and get this race in at the end.”

Yes, you read that right. A 15-year-old has run under four minutes for the full mile.

On March 19 at a meet in Auckland, New Zealand, Ruthe became the first 15-year-old boy in history to break four minutes for the mile, running 3 minutes, 58.35 seconds.

"This was probably my favorite goal that I've reached. I've definitely enjoyed this one the most, with all the people here supporting me," Ruthe told Reuters. "This has been the most set-up for me, so I'm really happy to have gotten this one."

Ruthe, who will turn 16 on April 12 when he races the 3,200 at Arcadia, lowered his previous best by three seconds when he ran 4:01.72 at the Cooks Classic in Whanganui, New Zealand, in January.

Starting Up

Ruthe’s running background is not a mystery to those who live in his hometown of Tauranga, New Zealand.

Before he was born, his grandparents, Trevor and Rosemary (Stirling) Wright, were world-class runners.

His grandfather Trevor set the world record for a marathon debut in 1971 when he ran 2 hours, 12 minutes and won a silver medal at the European Martathon Championship that same year.

His grandmother Rosemary was a gold medalist in the 800 meters at the 1970 Commonwealth Games and made the Olympic Final at the 1972 Munich Games.

Both of Ruthe’s parents, Ben and Jesse, were national champion runners in New Zealand.

“My family always said, ‘It’s just running,’ and never really made a big deal about it,” Ruthe said. “I just really enjoyed running and found I was good at it.”

Ruthe began running when he was in elementary school where his interest grew. Without any training, because his parents limited him, Ruthe won numerous races against his classmates.

“I ran at primary school and I loved it,” Ruthe said. “I would win races but my mum and dad always said I had to wait until I was at high school before I was allowed to start training.”

Ruthe enjoyed playing rugby and did lots of swimming prior to running. He said the longest swim he’s done in a day was 20 kilometers (roughly 12.4 miles) and the most in a week was 110 kilometers (roughly 68.4 miles).

“That’s still longer than my longest runs,” Ruthe said laughing. His longest run in a day to date has been 16 kilometers (roughly 9.94 miles) and 70 kilometers in a week (43.49 miles.)

Joining Athletics Tauranga Club

In 2023, Ruthe began training with Athletics Tauranga Club under coach Craig Kirkwood, the same group that former University of Washington standout and two-time Olympian Sam Tanner trains with.

“(Craig) has a great group of about 30 teenage boys and girls, and everyone just does so well training together,” Ruthe said. “Craig really emphasizes running within yourself, so the sessions are never that hard. I found I could keep up with some of the older kids in training and it sort of went from there.”

Ruthe first met Tanner at a local cross country meet. It was the same year Tanner, then 21, made his first Olympic team for New Zealand: 2021 Tokyo Games.

“Sam is just the most positive guy and he really encourages me,” Ruthe said.

From there, their relationship became closer while training alongside him.

“I’m so lucky to have Sam as a training partner,” Ruthe said. “I train with Sam but I don’t train like Sam. Craig gets Sam to do more running and more reps than I do but I get to join him for a portion of his session each time.”

Tanner’s work ethic and success has motivated Ruthe to go beyond what ordinary teenagers dream of.

In 2024, Ruthe set a 3,000-meter personal best time of 8:09.68, breaking both the New Zealand under-17 and under-18 records for the event.

A year later at the New Zealand senior national championships, Ruthe became the youngest men’s national champion in New Zealand athletics history, winning the 3,000 in a 15-year-old world best 7:56.18. The previous youngest male to win a senior national title was Dave Norris, who was 17 when he won the triple jump back in 1957.

Days after winning his first senior title, Ruthe ran 3:41.25 for 1,500 meters at the Sir Graeme Douglas International in Auckland, besting Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s world age-15 best of 3:42.44 from 2016. Ruthe then won his second senior title in the 1,500 in early March, tying for first with his training partner Tanner in 3:44.31.

Sub-4

It began as a rainy day on March 19.

By the time 8 p.m. crept around at Go Media Stadium in Auckland, a beautiful sunset appeared, and the crowd gathered around the track to watch Ruthe go after history.

Tanner lined up alongside Ruthe to pace him.

“I’m so lucky I have an Olympian that is happy to do that,” Ruthe said.

Through a half mile, they hit exactly two minutes while being urged on by the roaring crowd.

At the bell lap, the clock read 3:00.

As they made their way onto the homestretch, Tanner stepped aside into lane two, encouraging and sprinting alongside Ruthe to the finish.

Tanner raised his arms up in pure joy; Ruthe shrugged his shoulders like Michael Jordan did in the 1992 NBA Finals.

The clock read: 3:58.35

“This was probably my favourite goal that I’ve reached,” Ruthe told Athletics New Zealand. “Especially with all these people here… I’m really really happy.”

Ruthe became the 49th New Zealander to break four minutes in the mile that night.

Another milestone set by Ruthe, sure, but this moment broke new ground for high school distance runners.

Coming to America

A year after a record 69 boys broke nine minutes for 3,200 meters at Arcadia, Ruthe will be making a 15-hour trek from New Zealand to Los Angeles this weekend to race with some of America’s most elite high school distance runners.

“A lot of the trip for me is to gain experience traveling long distances, adjusting to time zone changes and to international racing,” Ruthe said.

Ruthe won’t be the only sub-four miler in the invitational field. Mercer Island WA’s Owen Powell (3:56.66), Crater OR’s Josiah Tostenson (3:57.47) and Tayvon Kitchen (3:59.61) and Marist GA’s Tommy Latham (3:59.79) are all scheduled to race the 3,200 Saturday night.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how great the athletics is in the USA,” Ruthe said. “America has some incredible runners like Powell, Tostenson and Kitchen, and I just really admire what they have done. I see it as a bonus that I get to come and line up with some of the best and just be part of it.”

All four of the American sub-four milers ran in the 2024 invitational section. Tostenson is the top-returner, having finished seventh in 8:39.89. Powell finished 10th (8:41.03), Latham finished 20th (8:46.55) and Kitchen finished 27th (8:49.58).

In recent news, Ruthe became the latest high school athlete to sign a name, image and likeness deal, joining Nike.

“I'm really excited to partner with the Nike team. It was something special when I got to put on the new pro kit, something I couldn't of imagined a year ago,” Ruthe said.

“The NIL deal means I can benefit from the partnership now, and all it offers, but also continue with my plans to go to college in the USA in 2028. There are so many great performances coming from the U.S. and working out a deal with a great company that means I can still come and race, train and study in the USA once I finish at Tauranga Boys was the perfect result.”

Ruthe hopes his first experience racing in the U.S. is a fun, new start. He plans to come back over later in June and July to race and has already looked ahead to the possibility of racing indoors next February.

“I hope I like traveling to the USA because I plan to be doing it more over the next few years,” Ruthe said.