One State, Three Mile Legends: Cunningham, Santee, Ryun

Record setting, Olympic trio hail from Kansas, the Sunflower State

By Bring Back the Mile

Kansas is known for its expansive wheat fields, but it has also amazingly grown three of the greatest Milers in history: Glenn Cunningham, Wes Santee and Jim Ryun. Consider below the impressive...

Miler Jim Ryun’s 50-year-old upset of Peter Snell still a magic moment in history

In an age when track & field was more popular in the U.S. than the NBA, NHL and what is now NASCAR, no one was a bigger star than high schooler Ryun

By Scott M. Reid, The Orange County Register

In early June 1965, Jim Ryun, an 18-year-old senior at Wichita’s East High School, and his coach...

Mile Moment of the Month: Steve Scott’s Dream Mile 1982

In thrilling race against top field, the legend again breaks his U.S. record in Oslo, Norway

By Bring Back the Mile

A Mile is four laps on the track that some have called the perfect distance and a four-act play. Oslo's Bislett Games Dream Mile in the 1980s was the pinnacle of this classic...

Jim Ryun Returns to Site of Record Run

“But that night all the strategies we had planned went away and it became more of an instinctive thing to make the move when I did, even though I didn’t feel comfortable doing it."

By Toni Reavis

San Diego’s Balboa Stadium looked much different in 1965 when it was home to the AFL San Diego...

Don Bowden Opened Gateway for American Milers

By Mark Winitz

Longtime track & field writer Mark Winitz interviewed Don Bowden in 2004 for an article that appeared in American Track & Field magazine. On the 55th anniversary of Bowden’s first sub-4 minute Mile by an American, Bring Back the Mile asked Mark to contact Don for his thoughts...

The Fun Miler: Former World Record Holder Tony Waldrop Reflects on His Storybook Career

In the mid-1970s, American middle-distance runner Tony Waldrop was lighting the track on fire. As a University of North Carolina senior, Waldrop set the world record for the indoor Mile, running a blazing 3:55.0 on February 17, 1974 in San Diego. Earlier that same year, he became the first man to...

Coghlan’s Run at Sports Arena Still a Huge Thrill 31 Years Later

But, for me, nothing tops the night of Coghlan’s Mile on the Sports Arena boards during the Jack in the Box Indoor Games. It was electrifying.

By Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune

It was 31 years ago this week when Eamonn Coghlan became an Irish storm, when he ran beyond the hype… by a...

Sparking an American Pastime

A nervous excitement spread through the spectators and it immediately felt as if we were doing this together, willing Alan around the track.

By JT Service, Running Times

Every sports fan has their IT moment. The day “IT” happened. Your grandfather remembers “IT” and your dad remembers “THAT”,...

Bowden passed test with first U.S. sub-4:00 Mile

My coach, the legendary Brutus Hamilton, said, "Let's give it a try and see if you can do it."

By Paula Parrish, Special to The Record

His face, when he crossed the finish line 48 years ago, could have come straight out of "Happy Days." Even when he was straining on his last steps to become...

Four Minutes of Fame

Remembering Don Bowden's U.S. milestone

By Brad Herzog, Sports Illustrated

When Roger Bannister first ran the Mile in less than 4 minutes, on May 6, 1954, he was hailed the next morning by The New York Times as having achieved "one of man's hitherto unattainable goals." The 4 minute barrier...