The First Four-Minute Mile

Two months ago, I was deeply inspired by the story of Sir Roger Bannister, which prompted me to attempt at breaking my very own "four-minute mile".

Today I found a short historical write up on Sir Roger Bannister's famous feat, which changed our perception on humans' capabilities forever: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-four-minute-mile .

Here are some of the lessons I learned from this story:

For years, so many athletes had tried and failed to run a mile in less than four minutes that people made it out to be a physical impossibility. The world record for a mile was 4 minutes and 1.3 seconds, set by Gunder Hagg of Sweden in 1945. Despite, or perhaps because of, the psychological mystique surrounding the four-minute barrier, several runners in the early 1950s dedicated themselves to being the first to cross into the three-minute zone.

This tells us that sometimes we tend to develop a self-limiting belief on our own capabilities based on other people's failures.

His world record in the mile did not stand long, and the record continued to be lowered with increasingly controlled climatic and surface conditions, more accurate timing devices, and improvements in training and running techniques.

Sometimes it just takes one person's focused effort and courage to break the psychological barrier of self-limiting beliefs to change the outcome.

In a carefully planned race, Bannister was aided by Chris Brasher, a former Cambridge runner who acted as a pacemaker. For the first half-mile, Brasher led the field, with Bannister close behind, and then another runner took up the lead and reached the three-quarter-mile mark in 3 minutes 0.4 seconds, with Bannister at 3 minutes 0.7 seconds. Bannister took the lead with about 350 yards to go and passed an unofficial timekeeper at the 1,500-meter mark in 3 minutes 43 seconds, thus equaling the world's record for that distance. Thereafter, Bannister threw in all his reserves and broke the tape in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. As soon as the first part of his score was announced--"three minutes..."--the crowd erupted in pandemonium.

When we're setting ourselves on a "mission impossible" goal, we need running mates to help keep us focused on the destination, as well as keeping track with our own progress.

Taking a cue from Sir Roger Bannister's incredible feat, I decided to take the lead and break my very own "four-minute mile" to show people that some things can indeed be achieved...IF WE REALLY HAVE THE DESIRE TO!

WHEN THE DREAM IS BIG, THE "FACTS" DON'T COUNT!

If you think you can do it, you can  :)