Thursday, March 22, 2018
Memories ofthe Breaking of the Four Minute Mile
Our memories often serve us in
intriguing, and sometimes inexplicable ways. We remember some
nebulous things so easily, but forget names and places that we really
should remember.
Then there are those events,
sometimes historic, that come back to us instantly and vividly. One
of those in my memory was the Mile Race at the British Commonwealth
Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1954. Earlier that year,
Roger Bannister became the first person to break the barrier of the
Four Minute Mile. He accomplished that feat at Iffley Road Track at
Oxford, England, using Chris Chattaway as a pace setter. I have no
idea why I was at a particular location. But I remember it vividly.
It was at the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club, in the Belleville Harbour.
They had a black and white television hung in a corner, and the race
was being shown on international television.
As long as I can remember, I have
had a keen interest in sport, and I had become interested in distance
running. I was born slow, not the slowest in any particular race. But
certainly not the fastest. At Sunday School picnics, out on the
school yard at Queen Victoria School, or at Queen Alexandra School, I
realized that I was never destined to lead the pack. I was a skinny
runt, standing less than five feet tall, weighing less that 100
pounds even when I was in the tenth grade. But I loved the running
business, perhaps influenced by my older brother Dick, who could
really run.
We watched him compete in the Ken
Colling Memorial Run, held annually at the local high school. He
never won the race, but always placed well. Aboriginals from the
local Mohawk Reserve, particularly the Green Brothers, did well in
that race, hearkening our memories to great runners like Tom
Longboat. Others, like Bill Vermilyea, could just “flat out run”
and took the podium multiple times.
Not to be outdone, we ran the course
several times ourselves, testing our limits. We rode the course on
our bikes, then ran it just to prove it could be done. We did not
need stopwatches.
The mile is 5 280 feet, 1 760 yards,
and is an important instrument of measurement in the United States,
but not in many other areas in the world, any more. All Olympic
events are now measured with the metric system, so there is no
further talk of inches, feet, or yards. All that Bannister had on his
mind that day was to run that distance in less than four minutes. He
was racing a staunch competitor, John Landy, from New Zealand.
The race was dubbed “The Miracle
Mile”. Landy led the entire race, until near the finish line, when
he looked over his left should to see if Bannister was with him.
Roger Bannister passed him on the right side to finish at 3:58.8.
Landy also finished under four minutes at 3:59.6. Historically, one
of the greatest races of all time.
The world record for the mile has
been broken many times since 1954. The current record holder is a
Moroccan, Hicham El Guerrouj. His time is 3:43.13, and he
accomplished this in 1999 in Rome. Svetlana Masterkova from Russia
holds the women's mark: 4:12.56, which she accomplished in 1996.
Dr. Roger Bannister was also a
neurologist who was always more proud of his contributions to
academic medicine. He was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth. Bannister
died on March 3, 2018, at the age of 88.
James Hurst
March 10, 2018.
# posted by James Hurst @ 5:56 AM 
