Enthusiasts from Sandia took home a lot of hardware in this year’s DOE Mile.

The annual competition drew more than 3,000 participants from 17 DOE labs for the 1-mile walk-run race on their campuses throughout May. The event started as a small monthly mile at Sandia California but, in 2016, evolved into a large-scale, desired event, which weathered the COVID-19 pandemic by evolving to include virtual and “just for fun” options.

Swiftest Sandian an inspiration

Systems engineer Sofie Schunk, based in Albuquerque, has held the women’s DOE mile record since 2022, with a time of 5:11 — a record that has yet to be broken. Sofie has won the DOE Mile every year since 2020, except 2023 when she nursed an injury and came in second, and 2024 was no different. Her winning time of 5:25 led Sandia to a second place win in the women’s run among all labs.

Sofie’s exploits are well-documented within the Labs. Even outside reporters have noted her work, calling Sofie “the latest example of the 31-year-old engineer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, fighting for ways to manage Type 1 diabetes in pursuit of her athletic goals and helping others reach theirs.”

In addition to her career as a systems engineer at Sandia, Sofie is an elite athlete, cofounder of the Diabetes Sports Project and a coach. This mix aligns with her personal mission to “find new ways to utilize my engineering education and desire for human interaction to better the community and various human lifestyles.”

Regarding her fourth DOE Mile win, Sofie humbly said, “As always, it was a pleasure to be encouraged by my Sandia New Mexico teammates to join the mile this year after a bit of a running break. The energy of those who showed up helped me surprise myself. I’m looking forward to continuing this tradition and improving each year.”

Sarah Allendorf defends title; Argonne sets new men’s walk record

Sarah Allendorf, director of the Chemistry, Combustion and Materials Science center in California, has been a regular in the DOE Mile ever since she persuaded the California centers with an ice cream challenge in 2021. In addition to inspiring participation, Sarah won the overall women’s walk for the second straight year.

“Walking is about putting one foot in front of the other,” said Sarah about her gold medal repeat. Sarah added that she hopes to chase runners again in the on-site race in 2025.

Chris Oldaine of Argonne National Laboratory shaved more than two minutes from his 2023 walk time of 10:23.9 to win the 2024 men’s walk in just 8:05.0. His quick footwork set a new men’s DOE Mile walk record, breaking Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Shima Didla’s time of 8:09 set in 2022.

Lawrence Livermore wins overall gold

The times from all participating labs were merged to determine the overall DOE Mile standings. A lab’s score is the sum of the numerical place finish of their top five finishers. The lowest score wins. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory won the overall DOE Mile by winning the men’s and women’s runs and placing second in the men’s walk and 10th in the women’s walk, for a total score of 14 points. Los Alamos National Laboratory was a close second with 15 points. Sandia California earned third place, scoring 17 points.

Nick Yang from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory outran the entire field for an overall winning time of 4:32.65.

“I enjoy the consistent work and improvement you can see in the sport [of running],” Yang said, “and also how you can become comfortable running faster as you improve.”

Building community by running and walking

“I had a great time participating in the DOE Mile event. These gatherings play a crucial role in strengthening connections among Sandians,” Sandia Executive Director and Chief Human Resources Officer Brian Carter said. “Encouraging participation is part of our commitment to promoting the holistic well-being of our workforce. Events like this contribute significantly to physical, mental, and social well-being.”

“The DOE Mile is a great event to build community within the lab and throughout the entire complex,” said Chelsey Aisenbrey, Ames National Laboratory’s director of Planning & Performance. “Ames employees always enjoy the opportunity to be active together, celebrate each other’s success and network with others. The DOE Mile combines all these aspects into one great event.”