Does anyone know who has the record for the most 4:00 or 4:01 miles without ever breaking 4:00?
Louie Quintana comes to mind. He ran 4:00 several times that I know of; at Harvard indoors, December 1994,
at BU indoors January 1994, and twice in one day at IC4A's 4:00 in the open mile to win, and then a 4:00 DMR leg later that day. I dont think he ever ran 3:59 though...
As an off-shoot of this thread - how about guys who have gone painstakingly close to breaking 4:00 without dipping under? I remember Scott Strand running 4:00:01 at the Maine Distance Festival in 1998.
I talked to Scott about that. I told him that was definitely an occasion where he should have met with the guy reading the accutrack and let "Ben Franklin" do the talking.
Thats about the worst "missed it by that much" ever. Actually I know one that ranks pretty close, Ronnie Harris got 3rd in the 96 Trials 5k. He needed to run 13:29.00 to make the A standard and become an Olympian. In Belgium he ran 13:29.25 I bet he thinks about that .25 at least once a month for the rest of his life.
Louis Q is probably the best miler to never go under 4:00 (he ran 3:40 and 1:46 and was an animal).
Sammy Unberhagen (Tx) ran 4:00-4:01 about 6-8 times, never going under. At Penn, he ran 4:00.1.
At one time Marc Davis had the distinction of being the fastest 1500 meter runner ever to NOT break four in the mile. He had run 3:36.?? but no sub 4. He quickly ended that when he heard the stat by running a 3:54.
I wonder who holds that dubious record now?
Tim Hacker in the 1500 ran 3:34, 3:35, and 3:37 several times but only broke 4:00 in the mile once I believe and it was years after his 3:37 5th place in the 84 trials.
Of course he never really ran that many mile races except indoor collegiate races.
I bet Peter Julian. He ran around 4 flat every day of the week but had no wheels to get under.
How about the Sub 4 minute Miler with the worst leg speed ever?
Todd Williams ran 4:00.90 for a lifetime best in the mile. His best 800 time was 1:54. And he swears that that is an honest solid PR.
Since he had about as much endurance as anyone, i do not think it is possible to break 4:00 unless you can run at least 1:52.9
Any sub 4 guys slower than that?
Ronnie was at 13:28.25 and the standard was 13:28.00, I think, just to be a stickler for accuracy.
Ronnie himself ran approximately five "sub-4's" in DMR's and 1500 equivalents before dipping under 4 in a proper mile race.
Similar to Ronnie & Strand, it is worth noting that Danny Martinez recently ran 2:22:13 to just miss the marathon qualifying time for the Trials.
Click
I am not a stickler for accuracy, but actually Ronnie indeed ran 13:29.25, and the standard was 13:29.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/olympics/daily/track/aug/01/harris1.htm
I was in that race and, if I remember correctly, Scott was originally given 3:59:99. Unfortunately, when the photo finsh tape was reviewed, his final time was changed to 4:00:01. Heartbreaking. I think Stember ran his first sub-4 in that race.
ATL's finest can ask the source himself, but Eric O'Brien from Georgetown might be in the running for the dubious honor. Ran 3:39 at 96 NCAAs, but to my knowledge never broke 4 for the whole enchilada.
I'm not at the top of the list, but 3:41.4 or .6 (can't recall) but no sub 4 mile. Pretty much sucks, because I don't think answering the "Can you run under 4 min for the mile?" with "well, sort of, kind of, if you add on 17 sec. blah, blah, blah." is the answer people are looking for. But if the Sierra Nevada plant in Chico, CA shuts down, I might have a chance!!!
Wilson Is that really you? I doubt it. If you get out of your dad's restuarant biz, you can certainly run a 3:55 to go with that 13:19 you ran.
How is your dog Wilbur?
Hey! I remember watching you win 3K indoors a few years ago. You went from 600m out... ah.. it was a sweet race.
No longer in the restaurant biz, well your never truly totally out of a family business, but I make a living elsewhere. I had to give Wilbur away when Amy started to go to training camps with us. I now have a dog that can actually run, not that it has helped me any. Who is this I'm responding to anyway?
That guy who went to Atlantic City with you after Penn Relays 1994.
A hint; Not a Hog, nor the guy with the Copper Top haircut who offered to give the Pit Boss a reacharound.
Hey I have 2 - 3:39's for 1500m and a fastest mile of 4:06 on the track and 4:03 on the roads!!
Hence the reference to my dog Wilbur. If I'm correct, are you a private citizen now?
That Atlantic City trip was the best, but the run in the morning was even better!!