The 2017 Footrace Fever bracket challenge is underway on Citius Mag and we’re calling on you to help us decide what is the greatest race ever. We have pop culture, Olympic, U.S. and classic race separated into different regions.

We ask that you download and print out a bracket, Fill it out and tweet it @CitiusMag with #FootraceFever in order for you to submit your bracket and be eligible for a surprise.

Unlike the NCAA basketball tournament, where you sit and watch the outcome out of your control, you have the power to rock the vote and help your favorite races advance. Vote in the polls below. Voting for the first round will end on Saturday. We will craft the next round of the tournament on Sunday and then voting will re-open for the following round on Monday.

Download your bracket now! Tweet it. Vote. Vote. Vote.

Classic races

Historical significance vs. An unbelievable last lap.

1936 Berlin Olympics – Jesse Owens 100m vs. 1990 Commonwealth Games – Andrew Lloyd 5000m

Owens runs 10.2 to establish a new WR in front of Hitler in Berlin, but was actually snubbed by FDR, who only invited white Olympians to the White House. (Hitler was worse than FDR, I’m not saying he wasn’t. It’s just important to remember that we’re not saints, either.)

Andrew Lloyd of Australia’s incredible last lap sees him overcome a four second deficit on 1988 Olympic 5,000m gold medalist John Ngugi of Kenya. Even though the video title says who wins, I sort of didn’t believe Lloyd would pull it off as I watched it. Wild stuff.

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American running lore vs. A really good nickname

1979 Boston Marathon – Bill Rodgers AR vs 1980 Moscow Olympics – Yifter the Shifter

Boston Billy wins it in front of his hometown crowd. Just a few years before he became a Boston champ, he was tooling around on a motorcycle, chain smoking, and occasionally jogging in jeans. A true rags to riches running tale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yTVylg2xCM&t=279s

1980 was seemingly the apex of the golden era of receding hairlines in distance running. As a bald I respect this fact tremendously. It looks like Viren and his lush head of hair are gonna take it, then Yifter shifts ‘em.

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Lord Coe’s shock vs. Another American running Moment

1980 Moscow Olympics – Seb Coe 1500m vs 1972 Munich Olympics – Frank Shorter Marathon

Coe’s final 200m is really something. But it’s the sheer look of disbelief on his face and his odd “is this real?” hand motions after that make this race a contender.

A random man enters the stadium before Franky GoodGuy, and to paraphrase Big Daddy, “they wasted the good reception on him.” Shorter doesn’t realize he’s won. It’s good drama.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4NV4_5Wkic

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An old timey 10k vs. A more modern-era hurdle

1948 London Olympics – Zatopek 10k vs 1984 LA Olympics – Women’s 400mH

The muddy Czech proves he is the most dominant endurance athlete with a pretty quick last 300m surge. (The video below shows Zapotek’s Olympic highlights. For the 1948 10K, click on the title above for that video. Darn Olympics Youtube channel does not allow race embedding!)

Nawal El Moutawakel, an Iowa State grad representing Morocco, wins the inaugural running of the 400mH for women, and becomes the first African-born Muslim woman to win Olympic gold.

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The Hat vs. The Cruz

1972 Dave Wottle with a hat vs. 1984 Zurich – Men’s 800m

Wottle wears a hat that he forgot he had on his head, goes straight to the back for the first 400m and looks out of the race entirely. But his last lap is unbelievable. The commentary is very good too.

Joaquim Cruz gets dragged out hot for the first 200m, but settles in and hangs on to win a very fast 800m in Switzerland

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Duel to 3:29 vs. The Cold War

Steve Cram & Said Aouita sub-3:30 vs 1983 World Champs Womens 1500m

3:29 is a very fast time. We don’t see many of them even today. Nice isn’t just what I wanna say to a mark like that, it’s also where the race takes place.

Mary Decker topples the Soviets during their era of dominance, in very dramatic fashion. Also announcers still called women athletes “girls” in the 1980s.

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Best track play-by-play ever vs. High profile cheating

1964 Tokyo Olmpics – Billy Mills 10k vs 1980 Boston Marathon – Rosie Ruiz

It’s insane how physical things get in this race with a lap to go, and Mills gets literally pushed to the outside. The shoving, coupled with Mills’ own story, coupled with the “LOOK AT MILLS” screamed during the broadcast. It inspires even me, a jaded misanthrope.

Oh, Rosie. If only you’d tried to pull this stunt today, where lying on a national stage is the norm, and heck, perhaps even encouraged.

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The Goat vs. The First

Hicham El Guerroj Mile WR vs. 1967 Boston Marathon – Katherine Switzer

El Guerroj sets the WR, but it’s also a great, exciting race to the line, thanks to Noah Ngeny, who, without El Guerroj being around, might have been remembered as the greatest miler of all time.

It’s easy to forget that many dumb Bostonians were extremely against women running the marathon for no real reason. This video was a pretty big wake-up call that we still have a ways to go and a reminder that a lot of rules that exist are very dumb, and won’t change unless challenged.

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Do not forget to vote in the POP CULTURE, OLYMPIC and U.S. regionals. Tweet your bracket to @CitiusMag.