“In New Zealand, we thought the Mile belonged to us. It was a shock when Jazy broke Peter Snell’s record, but when I heard on the radio that the American kid had run two seconds faster, I thought it must be a mistake."; No American male has held the outdoor Mile world record since.
By Roger...
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The challenge of Munich forced us to grow up very fast. We developed a whole new understanding of forgiveness.
By Jim Ryun for Vox.com
The first time I ran in the Olympics, I was a junior in high school. While my classmates were in school in Wichita, Kansas, I was competing in Tokyo.
When I...
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Wiley High School's Jack Corridan set a new Indiana state meet record in 1923 with his Mile time of 4:24.4.
By Craig Pearson, Tribune-Star
There was a segment of coaches that proposed switching to the Mile outdoors, at least partly as a celebration of the history of that event in American...
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At no level should the coveted 4 minute mark be as significant today as it is for the high school runner.
By Jon Gast, The Advocate
Go to a high school track meet and there’s a good chance you’ll hear something remarkable. Runners, and even coaches, will find themselves referring to the Mile...
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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...
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“No, much faster, Jim. I’m thinking national record. Not only that, I’m thinking you can do what no other high school boy has done and that’s to run under 4 minutes.”
By Rustin Dodd, The Kansas City Star
Bob Timmons, the legendary Kansas track & field coach and mentor to Olympian Jim Ryun,...
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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...
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The 4 minute Mile. As the sixth American high schooler gets inducted into this exclusive club, we take a look at what might be in store for him.
By Duncan Larkin, Outside
Matthew Maton made history last Friday. The high school senior ran the prestigious Mile event at the Oregon Twilight Meet...
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A half-century after a Kansas high schooler ran the Mile in under 4:00, a select five U.S. boys have joined the sub-4 club with Jim Ryun
By Kevin Helliker, Wall Street Journal
On Monday I called Jim Ryun, thinking it would be cool to tell the greatest Miler in American history something he...
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First sub-4 Mile at high school-only competition and State meet and still the only sub-4 at a State meet.
By Bring Back the Mile
On May 15, 1965, Jim Ryun, who a year earlier had already broken 4 minutes in the Mile as a junior for Wichita East High in Wichita, Kansas, the first prep athlete...
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.
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