Faster, faster

A Faster Human: Are We Unique In Our Ability To Get Better? : The Two-Way : NPR

"Sixty years ago today, Roger Bannister accomplished something humans had only dreamed of decades earlier.…"

[“Today” was May 6. The link, discovered by Some Guy in Seattle, also leads to video of the event: The first time in competition anyone had ever run a mile in less than 4 minutes.]

One not-always-gratifying feature of life at a certain age is the occurrence of anniversaries (50 years ago, 60 years ago, blah blah) often enthusiastically celebrated by people far too young to remember the real event and, in any case, another reminder of How Long It’s Been. But this particular event was something else.

I was just finishing up my Junior year in high school, running the mile myself, the track season in Northern Minnesota just kicking in to high gear, and the news of Bannister’s record was breathtaking. No way could I imagine ever running that fast (I was happy when I got comfortably under 5); in fact, the 4-minute mile, like the 15-foot pole vault and the sonic barrier was one of those things that maybe never could be broken. 

And then it was. Bannister’s record lasted only 46 days. It was like, once people realized it was possible they started doing it themselves. 

The current world record time for the mile is 3:43.13 [Hicham El Guerrouj].