Mile commemorating Bannister’s first sub-4:00 to be largest ever

The Bupa Westminster Mile is being promoted as the largest timed road mile ever. The race is being held in celebration of the 60th anniversary since Sir Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile.

The event, to be held on May 24, will run 30 races over the course of the day and see 5,500 people race the iconic mile course along The Mall to the front of Buckingham Palace in London. The event will also be used as the British Athletics one mile road championships.

A new trophy, the Sir Roger Bannister trophy, will be awarded to the winner of the senior men’s race.  Diana Leather, the first woman to run a sub-five-minute mile, has also allowed her name to be used on the women’s trophy.

David Weir, a British Paralympian who has won ten olympic medals during his wheelchair racing career, will be taking part in the event, trying to become the first wheelchair athlete to race a sub-three-minute mile.

“It’s very fitting that the 60th anniversary of the first sub-four mile will help set a new record in numbers and, possibly, provide the setting for the first sub-three mile,” said Hugh Brasher, the event director, in a press release. “It’s extraordinary to think that, 60 years on, more people have climbed Mount Everest than have run a sub-four mile. We hope events like these will inspire the next generation of milers.”

Registration for the event is open until May 6.