The Four-Minute Mile

A must read for any athletics enthusiast. Deep and meaningful analysis of training for a true champion of his day.

It is amazing how vivid it all came back to me, since I was about 8 years old and the name Bannister became passed around. What is exceptional about this account, is how chosen pivotal athletes seem to be in their respective sports, so that when we read their stories there is much to be mined. After reading this offhand, medical student's on-the-run account of those heady days, I am even more convinced how special he was to the sport and the discipline of life. Like Ray Berry, Johnny Unitas's wide receiver on the Baltimore Colts in the late fifties, Bannister possessed an incredible self-awareness and keen analytical skills that pre-date the modern athlete. Outsiders only see the athlete, but inside is the scientific mind at work, attempting the impossible feat of cheating nature and man's limitations. It was apparent to this reader early on, that Roger Bannister was about to make larger contributions in the medical field as well. It was also gleaned how foolhardy Steve Prefontaine was in his training habits by letting his heart run free; Bannister explains how the body had to be trained for higher performance, not just willed. Bannister's philosophy about running appears clinical, serving notice to all, that the pathway to a widened life is unrestricted if one leads an examined life.

Roger Bannister competed only eight years in the sport of track and field, but what a legacy he left. Bannister builds up to his historic sub-4:00 minute mile run, the first man to break such a barrier. It's more than just a running book. Bannister writes poetically of his childhood and in great detail of his Oxford years. Truly a renaisance man, Bannister is one who never puts running ahead of his medical studies and he maintains a balanced life, something most athletes today do not do. It's really the fantastic writing that moves this book. One would think Bannister is a professional author, not a then-med student/runner. But he eloquently describes the build up to the Olympics and later the sub-4:00 minute mile, concluding with a marvelous recap of his showdown with Landy at the Empire Games in Vancouver. It's been dubbed by some as the finest running book out there and I'd have to agree with that. * Apparently the book's name has been changed to The Four-Minute Mile. I think this name is better, but it's still great writing.

Bannister not only was the greatest runner of his time, he also was a incredibly thinking and balanced man. He was an amatuer because he understood running was only a means to a better life.