"It looks closer than it is to the finish, so if I wait and wait and wait and let them all make their moves, and hopefully I haven't gone to fifth gear by then, I can still go a little bit further," Willis said.
"So I tried to use my old-man savvy today."
Willis finished 0.69sec ahead of Chris O'Hare, avenging the outcome of the Hoka One One Long Island Mile on Wednesday when the Briton pipped him to the line.