Book description
The years 1953-4 were marked by the conquests of two unattainable peaks
- Mount Everest and the Four Minute Mile. But the dream of setting a new
track record for this distance started as early as the 1880s, by the
American Lon Myers, a stick-thin hypochondriac who was sick before and
after every race, yet still held every US record from 50 yards to the
mile. By 1902 a record of 4 minutes and 16 seconds was set by the
Englishman Joe Binks, an amateur runner who in his spare time worked as
a journalist and writer. And again in 1923 the world inched ever closer
to the elusive four minute record thanks to Paavo Nurmi, the 'Phantom
Finn', who won nine Olympic gold medals and set so many world records
that statisticians are still arguing over the total. Finally, in 1945,
when the Swede Gunder 'the Wonder' Haegg ran the mile in 4 minutes and
1. 4 seconds the world knew at last that it was on the brink of
conquering the Everest of all sports. But it wasn't until three
Englishmen teamed up and took on the challenge as one that they
succeeded in accomplishing what was described as the most significant
sporting achievement of the twentieth century: running the Four Minute
Mile. This is the story of the long quest for the 'Magic Mile', almost
two hundred years in the making. The methods the runners used and the
secrets they uncovered were passed like a baton through the generations,
until the quest reached its climax on the 6 May 1954, when Roger
Bannister, Christopher Chataway and Chris Brasher united to achieve the
impossible. As a life-long athlete, Oxford Blue, country champion,
British Universities student national, and coach to an Olympic athlete,
John Bryant has an unrivalled insight into the world of athletics and
the minds and methods of runners. Since 1971, John Bryant has worked as
a Fleet Street journalist where he was Deputy Editor of
The Times
. He is currently Consultant Editor of the Daily Mail
and lives in Kingston-on-Thames.
