Still Running (weakly). Issue 109

PAST – inspiration – “Thank goodness that’s over.  Now I can concentrate on my chemistry exams,” said Diane Leather on 29th May 1954, after running a new world record for the mile.  She was studying at Birmingham College of Technology at the time.  Three days earlier, she had run the previous record of 5:00.2.  But on the 29th, after winning the 800 metres at the Midland Women’s AAA Championships, she decided to “have a go” at the mile less than an hour later, and became the first woman to break five minutes, with 4:59.6.  (This was only 23 days after Roger Bannister’s historic sub-4 for the men.)

Diane Leather broke the mile world record five times in total, taking it down to 4:45 by the end of 1955, a mark which stood until 1962.  There were no women’s events over 200 metres in the Olympics Games before 1960, but Leather won silver medals in the European 800m in both 1954 and 1958.

In other mile history, John Walker (NZ) was the first man, in 1985, to run 100 sub-4s; Steve Scott (US) holds the record for the most sub-4s with 137; Nick Willis (NZ) ran a sub-4 in 20 consecutive years – 2002 to 2021; and Steve Spence (US) ran a sub-5 for 43 consecutive years – 1976-2018; in terms of vets records, Eamonn Coghlan of Ireland ran a 3:58.15 in 1994 at the age of 41, but indoors; whilst Anthony Whiteman (GB) did it outdoors at the age of 40 – 3:58.79 in 2012.

PRESENT – perspiration – Into which hallowed annals of athletics history sprinted Faith Kipyegon last Thursday night, as she tried to break 4 minutes for the mile, 71 years after Bannister.  As most experts predicted, she struggled to stay near the pace and finished with a 4:06.91, still the fastest mile ever run by a woman (it will not be ratified because she benefited from male pacers), but slower than Sydney Wooderson ran for a men’s record back in 1937.  His 4:06.4 at Motspur Park was watched by a huge crowd, which incidentally included my Dad, who was 14 at the time.

Kipyegon is by far the greatest female miler in history: she has won the last three Olympic Games 1500 metres, each by over a second.  She had the advantages of Nike’s super-shoe and clothing technology, a state-of-the-art track, perfect weather and those male pacemakers – all of which just illustrates the difficulty of the task. 

The same experts argued back and forth over whether it was a failure or something of a success.  Perhaps Faith Kipyegon herself put it into perspective best, when she said, “For me, [it’s about knowing] that my daughter is back at home, knowing that I'm out there inspiring the next generation ... When she grows up, she will know mum was up to something which was for the whole world.”

And perhaps it will not be until that next generation matures that we will see her dream fulfilled.

FUTURE – suggestion – With the summer upon us, more and more mile races – on track and road – are appearing on the horizon, often on midweek evenings.  I would urge you to have a go at one or more of these.

Why?  They are hard but fun – let’s face it, they’re over quite quickly.  Depending on your racing history, you may well get a personal best.  And they are great training for longer distances – run a faster mile, and you’ll probably run a faster 5 or 10km.  And, let’s be sentimental for a moment, you can be part of history.

But – try and do a few more speed-orientated sessions in the lead-up to the mile race – some 200s, 300s and 400s at faster than mile pace, with short rests.  These are great for your 5km races or parkruns too.  And do please warmup well before the actual race itself.  Even in hot weather, unsuspecting hamstrings or calves can easily tear when they are being asked to exert themselves like never before!