“‘I want to be that person and I want an American to do it.’”
By Scott M. Reid, Orange County Register
On an autumn day in 1961, Jim Beatty, the world’s top-ranked Miler, was on an easy run in Los Angeles, slowly returning from an injury.
It was one of those solitary runs runners sometimes...
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“I wanted an American to become the first man in the world to go under 4 minutes indoors.”
By Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage
Whenever Jim Beatty is asked to speak about his enduring niche in track & field history, as the first man to run an indoor Mile in less than 4 minutes, he...
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That last quarter Mile was run out of fear because I didn’t know what I had to negotiate.
By Gary Cohen
Jim Beatty is the first person to run a sub-4:00 Mile indoors which he did on February 10, 1962 when he ran 3:58.9 at the Los Angeles Invitational. The trailblazer is also the first...
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Mile’s growth and excitement continue as BBTM enters Lap 4
By Ryan Lamppa, BBTM Founder
It’s true: time does fly when you are having fun, and it is truly hard to believe that Bring Back the Mile is celebrating its third birthday and currently working on Lap 4 for the coming year. So what has...
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Mihály Iglói's coaching led to brilliant U.S. racing.
By Rich Elliott, Running Times
On the night of Feb. 10, 1962, the world of distance running shifted on its axis.
The scene was the Los Angeles Sports Arena. American miler Jim Beatty was racing in the featured event of the night, the...
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50 years later a 1956 twenty-six foot love letter with more than 1,200 signatures wishing Jim Beatty luck resurfaces; Beatty first man to run a sub-4 minute Mile indoors
By Wendy Brenner, Oxford American
It takes three people to hold it up, like an anaconda, draped between them and unfurled...
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Dear Mile:
You were our First Love from the first time that we set eyes on your classic beauty & rich history; it's been a wonderful 140-plus years together. From the time Edward Merritt (USA) ran 4:43.8 in 1877 to Great Britian's Sir Roger Bannister's ground breaking, and now iconic, first...
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Fifty years ago on February 10, a short middle-distance specialist from North Carolina stepped up on the boarded indoor track at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and made running history. Three minutes and 58 seconds after the starting gun had sounded, Jim Beatty became the first human ever to go...
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Historic first sub-4 minute indoor Mile by Beatty celebrates 50th anniversary on February 10, 2012
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – On February 10, 1962 in Los Angeles, American Jim Beatty became the first man to break 4 minutes for the Mile indoors, nearly 8 years after Great Britain’s Roger Bannister...
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"Everybody said the American runner is lazy, don't work. Now the American distance runner is the best in the vorld."
By John Lovesey, Sports Illustrated
Getting to the top these days is not so much a climb for mountaineers as it is an exercise in pyramidal logistics. A large expedition,...
Read More commentsReturn the Mile to prominence on the American & worldwide sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a movement.
ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.
CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.
NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance, to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.
Become a Mile Maniac member or a BBTM sponsor today! Join us, and go Mile!