For many years, scientists debated whether a sub-four-minute mile was humanly possible. For decades, the goal remained elusive but on the 6th May 1954, Roger Bannister broke the magic milestone with a time of 3:59:4 on Iffley Track, Oxford. It was one of the most iconic sporting records and achievements. Interestingly after Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, quite a few other runners started to break the invisible barrier. Australian John Landy lowered the mark to 3 mins 58.0sec just six weeks after Bannister. The current record is held by Hicham El Guerrouj in a time of 3:43.13.
Self-Transcendence
Often things can seem impossible to the mind, but when a pioneer breaks a record or achieves something entirely new, it gives us the confidence to follow in their footsteps.
"If we believe in our own
Self-transcendence-task
Then there can be
No unreachable goal."
- Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy often referred to his philosophy of self-transcendence - the belief and faith that we can try and go beyond self-imposed limits and achieve something new.
70th Anniversary - 6th May 2024
Earlier in the day, there had been public races in Oxford to mark the occasion; including a replica one mile race on the Iffley track. Three runners went under 4 minutes.
Our first two-mile race of the season was on the 6th of May 2024, which happened to be the 70th anniversary of this iconic record.
Video of 2 Mile Race, plus Short Archive footage of Roger Bannister
Sri Chinmoy on the Four-Minute Mile
"One mile in under four minutes was a dream, and Roger Bannister manifested the dream. Now, how many people have run a mile in under four minutes? Someone has run in 3:44. When Roger Bannister ran in just under four minutes, the whole world adored him. Now someone has run two miles in under eight minutes. It is unimaginable! Like that we can do many things."
Excerpt from "My Prophecy"
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