4 minutes

March 4, 2018 8:02 AM

Sir Roger Bannister: First person to run a mile in under four minutes dies at 88
posted by infini (27 comments total)

He would have celebrated his 89th birthday on March 23rd.
posted by infini at 8:05 AM on March 4, 2018

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posted by Thorzdad at 8:06 AM on March 4, 2018

He had a good run...
posted by Devonian at 8:17 AM on March 4, 2018 [20 favorites]

I was 8 months old when he broke the 4 minute mile.

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posted by bjgeiger at 8:19 AM on March 4, 2018

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posted by evilDoug at 8:21 AM on March 4, 2018

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posted by Silverstone at 9:06 AM on March 4, 2018

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Here's the entire first sub-4, with first-person narration. Very nice video. (YouTube)
posted by young_simba at 9:17 AM on March 4, 2018 [6 favorites]

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And here is a lovely story about the man himself - ”You might be surprised what you can accomplish in 4 minutes”
posted by Gilgongo at 9:20 AM on March 4, 2018 [4 favorites]

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posted by crocomancer at 9:32 AM on March 4, 2018

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posted by lalochezia at 9:56 AM on March 4, 2018

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posted by rhizome at 10:13 AM on March 4, 2018

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posted by haiku warrior at 11:02 AM on March 4, 2018

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posted by karen in austin at 11:53 AM on March 4, 2018

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posted by smoke at 11:55 AM on March 4, 2018

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posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:57 AM on March 4, 2018

Some years ago, my Dad (a big sports fan) went to a charity party-- the kind where they invite a lot of celebrities purely for their fame, and a certain amount of posturing and self-aggrandisement generally ensues.

He described meeting this mild-mannered old British guy who introduced himself: "I'm Roger Bannister. I used to do a spot of running."
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:25 PM on March 4, 2018 [9 favorites]

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posted by Lesser Spotted Potoroo at 2:05 PM on March 4, 2018

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posted by Lynsey at 2:58 PM on March 4, 2018

Perhaps not the first...
posted by Marky at 3:56 PM on March 4, 2018 [3 favorites]

I know his son, Thurstan, who lives in NYC and is an avid cyclist. We met several years ago, and have occasionally run into each other on the road. I had no idea that he had a famous dad, until somehow it came out (maybe a mutual friend told me; I don't recall right now). Apparently his dad got into cycling as well.

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posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:06 PM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

Another one of those people I assumed would have died years ago, since I haven't heard about him for decades. Although he was only 25 when he set the record.

This is pretty remarkable: "He caused a furor in England when he declined to run the 1500 meters in the 1948 London Olympics so he could concentrate on his medical studies... Bannister had limited time to train, as he was enrolled at St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School. He would run 30 minutes most days, focusing the rest of his time on his study of neurology."

His Wikipedia entry says: "When asked whether the 4-minute mile was his proudest achievement, he said he felt prouder of his contribution to academic medicine through research into the responses of the nervous system."
posted by LeLiLo at 4:35 PM on March 4, 2018 [5 favorites]

Blimey! - He once said he considered it cheating even to talk to your coach on the day of the race.
posted by unliteral at 6:42 PM on March 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

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posted by Sphinx at 7:38 PM on March 4, 2018

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posted by TheophileEscargot at 5:13 AM on March 5, 2018

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posted by Cash4Lead at 7:33 AM on March 5, 2018

A person who I learned of from Childcraft.
posted by thelonius at 7:38 AM on March 5, 2018

Marky, that link is worthy of its own FPP.

I have been an avid runner for most of my life, and even though he broke the four minute barrier two decades before I was born, the other middle distance runners and I spoke his name in hushed tones around the cinder track we had in middle school. The memories are almost overpowering.
posted by Literaryhero at 3:15 AM on March 6, 2018