So fast he’s a blur
Hicham El Guerrouj’s mile time is a world record that has held strong for almost 16 years. There have been 5 men who have been in the 3:46 club and 1 who has run 3:44. HOWEVER, the top 2 mile times to ever be recorded happened in the same race below, both in the 3:43 range. My question, and reason for posting this, is there anyway this World Record would have been set without the 2 men pushing each other to times that haven’t been touched, well, ever since? Competition at its finest.
Does the mile still matter?
So, the big question… Is the mile still relevant today?
Nick Willis: “It is still relevant, particularly in North America, Australia and New Zealand. It is important for the casual fan because people understand a sub-four minute mile. A 3:38 1500m doesn’t mean anything to most people. I still believe the mile should be used as a means to reach to the masses.
“The biggest challenge [to the mile’s status] is that mile times are not recognised as qualification times for the 1500m at major championships, even though translated times for 1500m to the mile are very accurate.”
Will Leer: “Absolutely. People in a crowd can connect with a mile more than they can with the 1500m. Everyone in America had the same experience as me. They all ran it in gym class. The mile has an ability to connect with the people who aren’t as intricately woven into our world as we are.”
John Walker: “It is still relevant, because there are so few top mile races in the world. There are only about three top mile races, so it is very special and in countries like England and New Zealand, it is still very important.”
You knew I would comment on this. 3/3 today!
Competition plays a part, but to answer your question, NO, the world record can be set without competition. El Gs world record in the 1500m is 3:26.00 (converts to about a 3:42.5 mile) and was not contested. He won by 5 seconds, but he did have a rabbit.
The three that answered that question, Willis, Leer, and Walker, are all biased. They’re not only “milers”, but they’re from countries where the mile is still run. Ask the three best “milers” in the world today, Kiprop, Kiplagat (both Kenya), and Souleiman (Djibouti) what they think of the mile. The mile is fading and has been for a while. It probably won’t ever “die”, but it will never be relevant like the 1500m is.
In my experience for the non-runner the mile is the only frame of reference when talking about times. But this also doesn’t mean much, most people are very impressed when you tell them you run sub 6 min/mi in a race.
People go bonkers when you tell them elite men marathoners run sub 5 for 26.2 mile.