“I felt I could not have run a more perfect race.”
Steve Landells for the IAAF
The IAAF takes a look back at five unforgettable, historic races over the classic Mile distance.
#1
1954 – Oxford, England
Roger Bannister’s Mile world record may have only lasted a mere 46 days but his place...
Read More comments
Less than three years after taking up the sport, then nearly quitting it, he was running on the biggest stage in the world.
By Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman
Back in the 1960s, there weren’t many athletes who were a bigger deal in our neck of the woods than Jim Ryun.
His exploits on the track...
Read More comments
It is hard to put into words the impact Roger Bannister had, not just on me, but on the world.
By Jim Ryun
When I heard the news of Roger Bannister’s death last week at the age of 88, I recalled the first time I ever heard of Bannister, in the spring of 1963.
I was rattling back to Wichita...
Read More comments
“We were in the running industry for so long, that was really all we were. That’s where all our value was, and I think it’s cool we’re able to take the skills we learned there — the hard work, the discipline, the drive — and transfer them over to a different industry.”
By Dave Devine,...
Read More comments
Legend and three-time Olympian marks 50th anniversary of Mile world record: "One of the easiest races of my life."
Bob Burns for USATF
Jim Ryun was used to setting world records, so his 3:51.1 Mile at the 1967 AAU Championships hardly came as a surprise. What surprised him was how effortless...
Read More comments
Another U.S. high schooler just went under four, which inspired us to trace the milestone's roots, starting with legend Roger Bannister
By Martin Fritz Huber, Outside Online
In early June, Reed Brown, a Texas high school senior, became the tenth U.S. high schooler in history to run the Mile...
Read More comments
Ryun’s high school coach, Bob Timmons, was formerly a swimming coach, and he more or less trained Ryun as a swimmer.
By Runner's Tribe
The first American high school athlete to run a sub-4 Mile, multiple world record holder, Olympic 1500m silver medalist. Jim Ryun to this day is an American...
Read More comments
“Coach Timmons would reach way down in our souls, find these amazing talents and pull them out."
By Tom Keegan, Lawrence Journal-World
Somewhere, sitting on a basketball team’s bench or listed way down on a football squad’s depth chart, or standing in front of a gymnasium door searching in...
Read More comments
The O’Hara-Keelan sub-4 breakthroughs came 54 years apart.
By Paul O’Shea, Once Upon a Time in the Vest
"It’s a brick wall. I shall not attempt it again."
--John Landy, after running between 4:02 and 4:03 six times in 1953.
Fortunately for the track & field world, the determined...
Read More comments
We need to be far more fan-friendly and that’s why I’m so pleased with ‘Bring Back the Mile’ and what they have been able to do. It’s one of those efforts where we realize they are investing in the future and the public and it helps people to identify with it all.
By Gary Cohen,...
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!