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The mile run (1,760 yards[1] or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race.

The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to metric distances in the 1900s and retained its popularity, with the chase for the four-minute mile in the 1950s a high point for the race.

In spite of the roughly equivalent 1500 metres race, which is often used instead of the mile at the world championships and the NCAAs and is sometimes referred as the foremost middle distance track event in athletics, the mile run is present in all fields of athletics and it remains the only imperial distance for which the IAAF records an official world record. Although the mile does is not featured at any major championship competition, the Wanamaker Mile, Dream Mile, and Bowerman Mile races are among the foremost annual middle-distance races indoors and outdoors, respectively.

The current mile world record holders are Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco with a time of 3:43.13 and Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands with the women's record of 4:12.33.

The record for the fastest mile ever run on any terrain is held by Craig Wheeler, who ran a downhill mile in 1993 in a time of 3:24.[2] Wheeler’s time is not an officially recognized record however due to the downhill grade of the course he ran.

History[edit]

Although today we know the mile as 5,280 feet, the distance of the English mile gained its current definition of 1,760 yards through a statute of the Parliament of England in 1593.[3] Thus, the history of the mile run began in England and it initially found usage within the wagered running contests of the 18th and 19th century. Such contests would attract large numbers of spectators and gamblers – so many that the activity became a professional one for its more-established participants.[4]

The mile run was at the heart of the divide between professional and amateur sports in the late 19th century, as running was beginning to gain popularity in the sports world. Separate world record categories were kept for amateurs and professionals, with professional runners providing the faster times. High-profile contests between Britons William Cummings and Walter George brought much publicity to the sport, as did George's races against the American Lon Myers. The mile run was also one of the foremost events at the amateur AAA Championships.[4] Although the spotlight was shining on the running scene, the categories remained distinct but the respective rise in amateurism and decline of the professional sector saw the division become irrelevant in the 20th century.[5]

A statue commemorating Roger Bannister and John Landy's Miracle Mile in 1954.

The mile run continued to be a popular distance in spite of the metrication of track and field and athletics in general, replacing the imperial distance for the metric mile (1500 meters). It was the 1500 metres – sometimes referred to as the metric mile – which was featured on the Olympic athletics programme. The International Amateur Athletics Federation formed in 1912 and confirmed the first officially recognised world record in the mile the following year (4:14.4 minutes run by John Paul Jones).[6] The fact that the mile run was the only imperial distance to retain its official world record status after 1970 reflects its continued popularity in the international (and principally metric) era.[7] Decades later, the distance is ubiquitous, whether run in high school gym classes or used for logging in miles for your average recreational runner.

The top men's middle distance runners continued to compete in the mile run in the first half of the 1900s – Paavo Nurmi, Jack Lovelock and Sydney Wooderson were all world record holders over the distance.[6] In the 1940s, Swedish runners Gunder Hägg and Arne Andersson pushed times into a new territory, as they set three world records each during their rivalry over the decade.[8] The act of completing a sub-four-minute mile sparked further interest in the distance in the 1950s and to this day, as many competitive runners are still chasing the ambitious barrier. Englishman Roger Bannister became the first person to achieve the feat in May 1954 and his effort, conducted with the help of Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway, was a key moment in the rise of the use of pacemakers at the top level of the sport – an aspect which is now commonplace at non-championship middle and long-distance races.[9][10] In fact, pacemakers, if performing effectively, can earn generous sums of money for their performances and accurate pacing duties.

Augustine Choge running the Dream Mile in Oslo in 2008.

The 1960s saw American Jim Ryun, considered one of the world's most decorated middle-distance runners, set world records near the 3:50-minute mark and his achievements popularised interval workout techniques which are still heavily used today, especially for collegiate distance runners.[8] From this period onwards, African runners began to emerge, breaking the largely white, Western dominance of the distance. Kenya's Kip Keino won the mile at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (which was among the last mile races to be held at a major multi-sport event).[11] Filbert Bayi of Tanzania became Africa's first world record holder over the distance in 1975, although New Zealander John Walker further broke Bayi's record a few months later to become the first man under 3:50 minutes for the event. The 1980s was highlighted by the rivalry between British runners Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, who improved the record five times between them, including two records at the Oslo Dream Mile race. Noureddine Morceli brought the mile record back into African hands in 1993 and Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj set the current record of 3:43.13, which has stood since 1999.[6]

Mile run contests remain a key feature of many annual track and field meetings, including recreational, high school, and collegiate meets, with long-running series such as the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games, Dream Mile at the Bislett Games, the British Emsley Carr Mile, and the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic being among the most prominent. Aside from track races, mile races are also occasionally contested in cross country running and mile runs on the road include the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City. However, in high school and collegiate cross country running, races are often measured in kilometers, with 5K and 8K being the most common.

Records[edit]

Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj (left) is the world record holder for the outdoor mile.

Outdoor[edit]

Indoor[edit]

All-time top 25[edit]

Steve Cram's former world record set in 1985 still makes him the fourth fastest ever.
  • i = indoor performance
  • ht = hand timing
Runners competing in the Women's Mile at the Adidas Boost Boston Games in 2019.

Men (outdoor)[edit]

  • Correct as of March 2019.[12]

Notes[edit]

Below is a list of all other times superior to 3:48.00:

  • Hicham El Guerrouj also ran 3:44.60 (1998), 3:44.90 (1997), 3:44.95 (2001),3:45.64 (1997), 3:45.96 (2000), 3:46.24 (2000), 3:47.10 (1999) and 3:47.91 (2000).
  • Noah Ngeny also ran 3:47.67 (2000)
  • Noureddine Morceli also ran 3:45.19 (1995), 3:46.78 (1993), 3:47.30 (1993), 3:47.78 (1993)
  • Daniel Komen also ran 3:47.85 (1997)
  • Saïd Aouita also ran 3:46.92 (1985)

Women (outdoor)[edit]

  • Correct as of July 2019.[15]
Ireland's Sonia O'Sullivan is the 12th fastest woman over the mile.

Notes[edit]

Below is a list of other times superior to 4:18.65:

  • Genzebe Dibaba also ran 4:14.30 (2016), 4:16.05 (2017).
  • Sifan Hassan also ran 4:14.71 (2018), 4:18.20 (2015).
  • Hellen Obiri also ran 4:16.56 (2017).
  • Natalya Artyomova also ran 4:17.00 (1991).
  • Maricica Puica also ran 4:17.44 (1982), 4:18.25 (1986).
  • Mary Slaney also ran 4:18.08 (1982).
  • Doina Melinte also ran 4:18.13 (1990).
  • Gudaf Tsegay also ran 4:18.31 (2019).
  • Faith Kipyegon also ran 4:18.60 (2016).

Men (indoor)[edit]

  • Correct as of March 2019.[29]

Notes[edit]

Below is a list of other times superior to 3:48.46:

  • Yomif Kejelcha also ran 3:48.46 (2019).

Women (indoor)[edit]

  • Correct as of February 2020.[34]

Youth age records[edit]

Key:  Incomplete information

Boys[edit]

Girls[edit]

Season's bests[edit]

  • "i" indicates performance on 200m indoor track

See also[edit]

  • 5 Mile - 5 mile run

References[edit]

  1. ^ It has always been customary to give horizontal distances in yards and vertical distances in feet
  2. ^ "Maniacs stand out a mile". The Independent. 20 July 1997. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  3. ^ Mile (unit of measurement). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved on 12 June 2011.
  4. ^ a b Bryant, John (2005). 3:59.4: The Quest to Break the 4 Minute Mile. Random House. ISBN 9780099469087.
  5. ^ McMillan, Ken. "Classic weekend notebook: Running for a good cause". Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  6. ^ a b c 12th IAAF World Championships In Athletics: IAAF Statistics Handbook Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine (p. 546, 549–50). IAAF. Retrieved on 12 June 2011.
  7. ^ World Outdoor Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 12 June 2011.
  8. ^ a b Mile - Introduction. IAAF. Retrieved on 12 June 2011.
  9. ^ 1954: Bannister breaks four-minute mile. BBC On This Day. Retrieved on 12 June 2011.
  10. ^ Butcher, Pat (4 May 2004). Completely off pace. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2011-06-12.
  11. ^ Commonwealth Games Medallists - Men. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 12 June 2011.
  12. ^ "World Records". International Association of Athletics Federations. 25 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  13. ^ a b c "Kejelcha breaks world indoor mile record with 3:47.01 in Boston". IAAF. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Bowerman Mile Results" (PDF). www.diamondleague-eugene.com. 31 May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  15. ^ "All-time women's best Mile run". alltime-athletics.com. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  16. ^ Mike Rowbottom (12 July 2019). "Hassan breaks world mile record in Monaco with 4:12.33 - IAAF Diamond League". IAAF. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  17. ^ Mike Rowbottom (17 February 2016). "Dibaba and Souleiman break world indoor records in Stockholm". IAAF. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  18. ^ a b c "Mile Run Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 22 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  19. ^ "Mile Run Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  20. ^ "Purrier smashes North American indoor mile record at Millrose Games". World Athletics. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  21. ^ "Purrier smashes North American indoor mile record at Millrose Games". World Athletics. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  22. ^ Mike Rowbottom (12 July 2019). "Hassan breaks world mile record in Monaco with 4:12.33 - IAAF Diamond League". IAAF. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  23. ^ Mike Rowbottom (12 July 2019). "Hassan breaks world mile record in Monaco with 4:12.33 - IAAF Diamond League". IAAF. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Purrier smashes North American indoor mile record at Millrose Games". World Athletics. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  25. ^ "Mile Run Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  26. ^ "Mile run Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  27. ^ "Mile run Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  28. ^ "Mile run Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  29. ^ "All-time men's best Mile Run indoor". IAAF. 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  30. ^ "Mile Run Invitational Results". lancertiming.com. 9 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  31. ^ "Lightfoot joins six-metre club, Teare clocks 3:50.39 mile in Fayetteville". World Athletics. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  32. ^ "Lightfoot joins six-metre club, Teare clocks 3:50.39 mile in Fayetteville". World Athletics. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
  33. ^ a b "Mile run Results". runnerspace.com. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  34. ^ https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/middle-long/one-mile/indoor/women/senior?regionType=world&page=1&bestResultsOnly=true&oversizedTrack=regular&firstDay=1899-12-30&lastDay=2020-02-09
  35. ^ "Purrier smashes North American indoor mile record at Millrose Games". World Athletics. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  36. ^ "Purrier smashes North American indoor mile record at Millrose Games". World Athletics. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  37. ^ "Purrier smashes North American indoor mile record at Millrose Games". World Athletics. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  38. ^ John Mulkeen (16 February 2019). "Tefera breaks world indoor 1500m record in Birmingham". IAAF. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  39. ^ "Purrier smashes North American indoor mile record at Millrose Games". World Athletics. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  40. ^ Rich Sands (10 February 2019). "Millrose Games Women — American 800 Record For Ajee' Wilson". trackandfieldnews.com. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  41. ^ "Dream Miles results" (PDF). 15 June 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  42. ^ "2012 Bislett Games--Oslo Diamond League". Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  43. ^ "2011 Prefontaine Classic Results". Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  44. ^ "Search Mile History – Mile History". Retrieved 14 November 2016.

External links[edit]

  • IAAF list of one-mile records in XML[1]
  1. ^ McMillan, Ken. "Classic weekend notebook: Running for a good cause". recordonline.com. Retrieved 6 June 2016.