If you’re an active runner, than you probably know the story of Roger Bannister and the four-minute-mile, but the truth is, it never gets old.
 
It’s the type of story that legends are made of, the type of story that is only heard of in fairytales and the type of story that lead a little known athlete from Middlesex, born in 1929, to become knighted by Queen Elizabeth and cemented as not only an English hero and but an exercise legend.
 
Throughout history there are endless stories of individuals overcoming what was believed to be ‘impossible’ to only break through and acheive something that not only is remarkable, but eventually becomes routine due to the power of the human mind.
 
Putting a human on the moon, climbing Mt. Everest and flying an airplane are all examples of milestones in human history that were once believed to be ‘impossible’ but were achieved, and as a result became routine for humans to repeat.
 
The story of Roger Bannister is no different. Roger took something that was once considered so unachievable, so ‘physically impossible’ and dedicated his life to achieving it…
 
He was the first person to run a mile in four minutes.
 
“So what? What’s the big deal? How can you compare putting a human on the moon to someone running a mile in four minutes?”
 
Those were my first thoughts, and no doubt you’re having the same thoughts right now. What makes this story so remarkable is not necessarily the feat itself, but the history that had surrounded the four-minute-mile and its failed attempts.
 
For generations, since people were manipulating the recording of time and the measuring of distance, it was believed it was not possible to run a four-minute-mile.
 
The Romans had tried endlessly to achieve this feat, but continually came up short (there are examples of Roman officials forcing a runner to run with a live bull behind him to encourage a faster run).
 
German scientists published journals that stated the four-minute-mile would cause the human body to ‘explode’ and it was simply not possible for humans to do.
 
As a result of countless failed attempts and general scientific thought it was widely accepted that the human body was not physically capable of this beating this time.
 
Roger Bannister believed differently.
 
Already a competitive runner at the University of Oxford he believed that it was possible and fully committed his life to being the first person to achieve this milestone.
 
He ran everyday to improve his stride and lung capacity. He studied physics thoroughly to try to obtain any edge that he could possibly get. He endlessly studied the mechanics of the body and practiced the perfect running stride all with the dream of making his goal a reality.
 
Perhaps more important than all the physical research and training he did was the visualization he did mentally to prepare for his run. He rehearsed over and over again in his head completing the four-minute-mile. What it would take to do it, what type of pleasure he would gain by being the first to accomplish it and how perfect he would have to run to do it.
 
It became like a religion for him… He truly believed in his mind he would accomplish it, and nothing would stand in his way.
 
Finally, he was ready.
 
On a rainy day in 1954, Sir Roger Bannister laced up his track shoes, gathered a group of people and prepared to race towards his dream. It was reported he ran hard that day and completed his mile in a time of 3m and 59s, instantly immortalizing his legend and his billing as miracle mile man. The news spread quickly and instantly a celebration began.
 
While this story in itself is a remarkable example of the power of the human mind, perhaps the real kicker lies in what happened after he accomplished this feat.
 
Within a few years of Bannister accomplishing this milestone, there were 24 recorded runs that broke the four-minute benchmark. Unbelievable!
 
A physical milestone that for thousands of years was believed to be impossible became beatable and once the human mind knew this over two dozen runs instantly broke that mark. Not only that, but today the four-minute-mile is not only the benchmark of a strong middle distance runner, but high school students are running at this pace!
 
So as the winter winds down here in Toronto, we hope that the legend of Sir Roger Bannister will serve up a little bit of inspiration for you to continue to work towards your exercise goals, big or small.
 
The power of the human mind remains much more powerful than the screen in front of you, and do as Roger did, don’t let anything stand in your way.
 
 
Exercise Toronto.Com Staff