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.




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