The Bannister Miles to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first sub-four-minute mile is set to feature an innovative four-lap race over barriers
Whatever the weather, the Bannister Miles meeting in Oxford on May 6 is certain to see a world record with a “steeplechase mile” making its international debut.
The day has been designed to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Roger Bannister’s first sub-four-minute mile. But history and tradition aside, organisers are keen to embrace the age of innovation by including a unique four-lap race over barriers.
Due to the unusual nature of a steeplechase mile, world records – or world bests, as World Athletics prefer to call them in this case – are guaranteed. But how close can the men and women come to the four and five-minute barriers respectively?
A sub-four-minute mile over barriers would have been the stuff of science fiction in 1954 when Bannister was at his peak. Yet in 2024 how near would someone like Jakob Ingebrigtsen come to breaking four minutes in a one mile ’chase?
The Norwegian holds the European record for the mile with 3:43.73, after all, whereas he ran a European under-20 record of 8:26.81 for the 3000m steeplechase when he was aged 16 in 2017. What’s more, in the same year he won the European under-20 title in the 3000m steeplechase in Grosseto and competed in the ‘chase at the World Championships in London, albeit finishing eighth in his heat.
Ingebrigtsen has hinted that he may return to the steeplechase one day. Would racing a ’chase over one mile appeal to him? The Olympic 1500m champion’s appearance fee will surely be beyond the budget for the Bannister Miles event in May, but if the event becomes more established then we could feasibly see him tackle it one day.
These steeplechase mile races will be held for men and women in Oxford during a series of British Milers’ Club races in the afternoon. It is not entirely the BMC’s idea, though. Instead they were approached by Jakob Larsen and Florian Weber from World Athletics – the same innovative duo who are exploring current long jump rules, among other things.
There have, of course, been plenty of steeplechase races in the past at distances other than 3000m. Fittingly, some of the earliest steeplechase races were in the University of Oxford sports events in the 1860s over cross-country. When the steeplechase made its Olympic debut on the track in Paris in 1900 the races were held over 2500m and 4000m. Since then there have been steeplechase races regularly over 2000m and even 1500m at schools level.
The world records over 2000m ’chase incidentally are held by Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (5:10.68) and Beatrice Chepkoech (5:47.42).
Winfred Yavi and Beatrice Chepkoech (Getty)
The steeplechase mile in Oxford invites specialist steeplechasers to drop down in distance while also encouraging milers to experience the thrill of the ‘chase by tackling some barriers to break up the rhythm of their favourite distance.
When it comes to entry standards, the BMC is asking for men who have run quicker than 3:50 for 1500m or 9:00 for 3000m steeplechase with the women’s standards being sub-4:30 or 11 minutes.
Could we one day see a sub-four-minute ‘steeplechase mile’? Maybe.
READ MORE: The Wild West of online athletics coverage
The difference between the men’s world records for 3000m flat (7:20.67) and 3000m steeplechase (7:52.11) is 31.44 seconds. But given the mile (1609m) is just over half the distance of 3000m, you can argue that the difference between a mile with barriers and a mile without barriers would be roughly half of the time of the 3000m flat/steeplechase differential. In other words, about 16 seconds.
If so, adding 16 seconds to the world mile record of 3:43.13 would result in a 3:59 steeplechase mile, which would be a barrier-breaking performance in more ways than one.
» Subscribe to AW magazine here
