Bannister Mile TT set for anniversary of first sub-four-minute mile

Next week on May 6 will mark the 66th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister‘s sub-four-minute mile. Bannister was the first person in history to break the four-minute barrier, which was, until that point, considered an impossible time to beat. Over six decades later, Bannister’s run is still one of the most storied athletic achievements of all time, and it will be honoured by the British Milers’ Club (BMC) in the virtual Bannister Mile TT, set from May 4 to 6.

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The Bannister Mile TT is free to enter, although it doubles as a fundraiser for Turn2Us, a charity that aims to “fight poverty by helping people in need to transform their lives and futures.” So far, £468 (C$813) has been raised, with the ultimate goal of £1609 (to represent a mile, which is 1,609 metres). Bannister ran his first sub-four mile in 1954, so the time trial has a cap of 1,954 runners. Tim Brennan of the BMC noted the importance of running safely during the time trial.

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“Whilst respecting government guidelines on social distancing and exercise restrictions, the club is responding in a creative way to the absence of competition,” he said. The BMC website stressed that the Bannister TT is not a race, but rather a “training time trial.”

Even if you cannot enter the BMC event, it’s a fun idea to run a mile next week on May 6. You’ll be running 66 years after Bannister and thousands of kilometres away from the Iffley track in Oxford, U.K., where he ran, and you probably won’t come close to his time of 3:59.4 (but certainly give it your best shot), but that doesn’t really matter. Just go out, give it a try, and see how fast you can run a mile (and appreciate just how fast a sub-four mile really is).