Coffee with Larry, May 6, 2024, Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the first sub-4 minute mile!

This is my daily chat with #RunBlogRun viewers and track fans on all things track & field!

This is Coffee with Larry for Saturday, May 4, 2024.
#CoffeewithLarry is sponsored by #JAMBAR, the Original Organic Artisan Sports Energy Bar. Jenny Maxwell founded JAMBAR in 2021 after three years of development. JAMBAR is made in small patches with organic ingredients from Northern California.

Coffee with Larry, November 11, 2024, Grand Slam Track Selects Kingston, Jamaica, the costs of Race Expos, NXN behings, FootLocker coming soon!

Coffee with Larry for November 5, 2024, NYC Marathon comments, FootLocker Cross Country,

Coffee with Larry, November 4, 2024, 55,6464 finish TCS New York City marathon! Abdi Nageeye and Sheila Chepkirui battle to the end for the win!

JAMBAR has 34 grams of carbohydrates and 10 grams of protein and is sweetened with maple syrup.

JAMBAR is the Original Organic Artisan Sports Energy Bar, www.jambar.com, CODE Larry 15!

I like the taste of JAMBAR and found them at the Running Event. Jenny Maxwell and her team came on as a sponsor of CWL.

Please support CWL by buying JAMBAR. Go to www.jambar.com and use Code LARRY15!

Thanks #EATJAMBAR!

Our topics:

1. Today is the 70th anniversary of the first sub-four-minute mile run on May 6, 1954.

2. The race was the AAA Mile at Iffley Road Sports Track at 6 PM local time. The conditions were windy and cold, and Roger Bannister later recalled them as “terrible.”

3. Chris Brasher paced the mile through 440 in 58.2 and 880 in 1:58.2. Chris Chataway took over at 1100 and led through 1,320 in 3:00.5. Chataway continued to lead until 250 yards when Bannister charged to the front and pushed himself. In an article on the #GuinessWorldrecords site, Roger Bannister noted that he had such strength over the last stretch, finishing in 3:59.4.

4. The vocal crowd roared, drowning out Norris McWhitter’s announcement of the first sub-four-minute mile.

See Roger Bannister break Four Minutes for the Mile on May 4, 1954, seventy years ago, at Iffley Road Sports Track at the University of Oxford! The Bannister Mile Meeting was held today in honor of the 70th anniversary this inspiring mile ! #bringbackthemile, #fourminutemile,… https://t.co/NjbmRmpDEw
— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) May 6, 2024

5. Even in the rough conditions, Sir Roger Bannister (given MBE in 1975) noted he had to race, as Wes Santee in the US and John Landy in Australia were very close to his standard.

6. Landy would break Bannister’s WR three weeks later. Later in the summer, Bannister would pass Landy with 300 yards to go in the “Mile of the Century.” After the Empire Games, Bannister would win the 1,500m at the European Champs and then retire.

7. Here’s Jeff Benjamin’s story on meeting Sir Roger Bannister,
https://www.runblogrun.com/2019/01/my-quest-for-sir-roger-bannister.html

See you tomorrow on Coffee with Larry !

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
View all posts