Quest to break ‘4’

Nick Christensen

Thursday, May 6, 2004 | 9:06 a.m.

Progression of the mile world record from 1923 to present:

1923 -- Paavo Nurmi, Finland, 4:10.4

1931 -- Jules Ladoumegue, France, 4:09.2

1933 -- Jack Lovelock, New Zealand, 4:07.6

1934 -- Glenn Cunningham, U.S., 4:06.8

1937 -- Sydney Wooderson, Britain, 4:06.4

1942 -- Gunder Haegg, Sweden, 4:06.2

1942 -- Arne Andersson, Sweden, 4:06.2

1942 -- Gunder Haegg, Sweden, 4:04.6

1943 -- Arne Andersson, Sweden, 4:02.6

1944 -- Arne Andersson, Sweden, 4:01.6

1945 -- Gunder Haegg, Sweden, 4:01.4

1954 -- Roger Bannister, Britain, 3:59.4

1954 -- John Landy, Australia, 3:58.0

1957 -- Derek Ibbotson, Britain, 3:57.2

1958 -- Herb Elliott, Australia, 3:54.5

1962 -- Peter Snell, New Zealand, 3:54.4

1964 -- Peter Snell, New Zealand, 3:54.1

1965 -- Michel Jazy, France, 3:53.6

1966 -- Jim Ryun, United States, 3:51.3

1967 -- Jim Ryun, United States, 3:51.1

1975 -- Filbert Bayi, Tanzania, 3:51.0

1975 -- John Walker, New Zealand, 3:49.4

1979 -- Sebastian Coe, Britain, 3:48.95

1980 -- Steve Ovett, Britain, 3:48.8

1981 -- Sebastian Coe, Britain, 3:48.53

1981 -- Steve Ovett, Britain, 3:48.40

1981 -- Sebastian Coe, Britain, 3:47.33

1985 -- Steve Cram, Britain, 3:46.32

1993 -- Noureddine Morceli, Algeria, 3:44.39

1999 -- Hicham El Guerrouj, Morocco, 3:43.13

Larry Burgess remembers when the impossible happened.

Burgess, the boys' track coach at Basic High School in Henderson, was in grade school when the news came out, and remembers how groundbreaking the idea seemed.

"It was still impossible -- many people believed it couldn't be done," Burgess said. "British doctors said if anyone did it, they would die on the spot."

The "it" in question is the four-minute mile, which 50 years ago today Sir Roger Bannister first accomplished on a track in Oxford, England.

"I grew up in that era. I can remember when it was broken; I can remember it was a pretty important thing," Burgess said. "The four-minute mile still has special meaning. When a runner says he's broken a four-minute mile, he's in elite company."

Although as time goes on, the company becomes less and less elite. Even high schoolers have now managed to run a "sub-four," although none in Nevada. Burgess said a student from Reno's Bishop Manogue High School had a 4:10 in the 1,600-meter run, which is about 30 feet short of a full mile.

One of Burgess' runners at Basic, Josh Sillitoe, said his coach tries to instill in him the importance of Bannister's run and the anniversary.

"Coach Burgess tells us a lot of stories about old runners, especially Roger Bannister," Sillitoe said. "He set a goal, and he tried to prove everyone wrong. It shows when you have a goal, you can overcome things that aren't possible."

Sillitoe said his best mile was 4:36, but he said that poor pacing hampered his efforts to do better than that.

"I know I can do better in a fast pace," he said. "It's just amazing how hard it is to run fast sometimes. It's really important because you use the person in front of you as energy. What might feel like a fast run alone feels a lot easier when you're running with someone else."

Bannister organized his feat with runners Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway. Brasher paced Bannister for the first two laps -- the first at 58 seconds, the second in a minute -- then Chataway picked up the third lap in 62 seconds. Bannister sprinted the last quarter-mile in 58.9 seconds, for a total time of 3:59.4.

Jason Owen, a runner from Henderson's Foothill High School, said the mile gets more difficult as it wears on.

"The hardest part is the third lap, because at that point in the race, you start to lose focus," he said. "You think you're working hard, but your body slows down."

Owen said as a high schooler, the four-minute mile is simply "not fathomable."

"There's only been (a select few) to break it in high school history; it's fairly unattainable but definitely a goal for every high school miler," Owen said. "My goal is to hit about 4:20 before the season ends. You gotta walk before you can crawl."

Chaparral coach Marshall Hanson said he has concerns about the future development of mile runners in America. He said while American runners want to focus on shorter sprint races, runners from other parts of the world have more incentive to run distances.

"(U.S.) kids don't bother trying to get into longer distance running, because (scholarships) are going to be taken up by great African milers, who are looking for places to get a college degree from. They think nothing of running five miles to get to elementary school, without shoes even," Hanson said. "In high school, to be a top-notch miler, you gotta put in 50, 60, or 70 miles in a week. With all the other things this culture offers, it's hard to put in the proper time to be a good distance person."

Burgess said that even though the metric mile is 1,500 meters, runners across the globe still run special mile races.

"Even in Europe, it still has a certain mystique," he said.

But it has become more and more common for runners to reach that four-minute mark -- some 2,000 have crossed the threshold, and the world record, held by Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj, is down to 3:43.13. One major obstacle remains -- a woman has yet to record a mile of better than 4:12.56.

Foothill student Megan Karl, who competes in 1,600-meter races, said she thinks a woman will cross the barrier in time.

"You look at the Olympics, it keeps getting closer and closer," she said. "In every sport, times are getting cut down; they're learning how to push farther and farther. Girls are getting closer and closer every year."

Karl said her best time was a 5:12.

"A sub-five is exceptional for girls; we had one girl do that last year. In college it drops about 25 seconds probably," she said. "But the fastest girl miler was running 5:15s in high school -- it's a lot harder if you have nobody running with you."

She said the patience of any runner to reach that sub-four threshold must be immense.

"I just think of the training and dedication they must put into it," she said.

Above all, said Eldorado runner Clint Johnson, Bannister's mark is an inspiring goal to all runners.

"There's not too many people in the world that can do that," he said. "Maybe one day hopefully I can do that."