OT Nick Willis 4 Minute Mile Streak
January 7th, 2022 at 1:38 PM ^
Thanks, as a former trackman, I've always enjoyed watching track and field events and stories.
Also, I made it clickable:
https://www.tracksmith.com/journal/article/midnight-mile-documentary
January 7th, 2022 at 2:03 PM ^
Thanks for making it clickable!
January 7th, 2022 at 1:40 PM ^
I cannot believe Nick & Co have not made Very Nice Track Club gear for me to buy. I am a fan. Let me engage in commerce. THIS IS AMERICA, NICK.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:04 PM ^
Edit: Misunderstood what you wrote.
I have inquired about getting U of M stuff as I would love to wear a nice Michigan singlet. The only one I could ever get was the Alumni club shirt which is rather heavy. I've worn it a few times.
I also got some Adidas stuff that is okay, but is getting older.
January 7th, 2022 at 3:47 PM ^
I have a singlet and shorts I purchased from the M Run Club a few years back. Nike Dri-Fit, so it's pretty breathable but it's night the absolute lightest out there, I'm sure.
You can check their website, looks like they have some newer stuff - maybe it's lighter/better.
January 7th, 2022 at 1:48 PM ^
I have a BA in Econ but the best I've ever done is sub 7. And I was thrilled!
January 7th, 2022 at 1:54 PM ^
During high school mile-run practice, I always got lapped by teammate (and U of M hall-of-famer) Greg Meyer.
Needless to say, Coach Misner never had me run the mile in a meet.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:05 PM ^
Living in close to GR I've gotten to run with Greg a couple of times in training runs. Great guy!
January 7th, 2022 at 2:18 PM ^
Other than a couple times messaging back and forth on LinkedIn, I haven't been in touch with or seen Greg in about 3 years. But yes, no doubt he is a great guy.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:34 PM ^
Greg is a former teammate and housemate. Of all the workouts and runs together as a team, I managed to beat Greg once. He didn't forget it.
As a housemate, there were 6 of us and Greg as ascending to Olympic level by then, post graduate years for Greg. He's a great guy. One of the best ever runners I trained with.
January 7th, 2022 at 3:07 PM ^
There has never been a more apropos time to say this:
Username checks out
January 7th, 2022 at 3:27 PM ^
Go Falcons!
January 7th, 2022 at 3:41 PM ^
The ONLY reason I ever wear green and white!
January 7th, 2022 at 2:02 PM ^
I got down to a 5:48 in 2018 (age 46 soon to be 47, only started running when I was like 39). That was at the Magic of the Mile in Grand Rapids. I believe I also ran a 1600 meter race a bit faster in Grand Ledge a week or so later, but can't find the times. Also an econ major... Now I'm trying to come back from injuries. Slow going.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:23 PM ^
That pretty remarkable!
I was a big soccer player when I was a wee lad. I was pretty good as I played in England and represented the US during some international events. At that age, there is nothing that better prepares your body for longevity and endurance than soccer. When I moved back to the US in the 6th grade, I ran the mile (which is not something you do in England) and absolutely crushed it at 5:05. As I grew, it became increasingly harder to keep that time. By the time I was a senior in high school, I was a 6'4" beanpole, but was able to squeeze out a 5:32 mile.
I'm your age, and I can barely get a mile in under 7 mins. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm jealous.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:42 PM ^
I've always thought a taller person would have the advantage at distance running, as those long legs could just lope along at a pace shorter people couldn't keep up with. But the elite guys are never "6'4" beanpoles," as you describe. So I guess I don't know what to think.
Then again, there's Usain Bolt, who's 6'5" ... yeah, he's a 100m guy, but I would think that kind of height would take too much time gettin' going to do that well in the 100. So I should probably just stop typing and step away from the keyboard.
January 7th, 2022 at 3:15 PM ^
Ha! No need to stop because you are actually correct (and you probably don't even know it)
My one correction is that a mile run is not really considered a "distance run", it's more of a sprint. I started to run marathons in my adult years and while I wasn't a beanpole anymore, I could sometimes get it under 4 hours.
January 7th, 2022 at 4:21 PM ^
Then there’s my sister. 5’2” but has run Boston in under 3:20 a few times. She looks like the roadrunner.
January 7th, 2022 at 5:38 PM ^
Sprints are usually 400 meters and down. Long distance is usually 3000 meters and up. Everything in between including the 1500 and the mile are generally considered middle distances.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:44 PM ^
I only ran track one season in high school (switched to soccer in the spring the next 2 years) and the fastest mile I ever ran was about 5:08.
More recently, I ran a mile on a treadmill at 6:30, although that was a couple of years ago and I doubt I could run it much faster than 8:00 at this point (a little out of running shape).
That year, we had a senior on our team who was ranked #1 in the country in the 1600 with a PB of 4:03. That dude was fast.
January 7th, 2022 at 5:00 PM ^
I guess we are all humblebragging our mile PRs...So I ran a 4:48 back in HS during the last millenium at the lovely track at Algonac HS during the regional meet my senior year.
Let's just say that I wouldn't quite double that if I tried it today. But, to be fair, I'm not in track shape anymore...
January 7th, 2022 at 1:56 PM ^
Pretty impressive for an offensive tackle!!
January 7th, 2022 at 2:07 PM ^
No only is a four minute mile impressive for an offensive tackle, he ran it naked!
January 7th, 2022 at 2:22 PM ^
That only helps if you shave all your body hair!
January 7th, 2022 at 2:44 PM ^
That applies to swimmers but there is outerwear used by the elite runners to cover the their arms and legs which is feather weight light.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:03 PM ^
That’s really impressive - I have to go pretty much all out to get under 6 minutes these days; can’t even fathom running a 4 minute mile.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:05 PM ^
Really impressive video and run by Willis. I always found indoor tracks a bit harder to run on compared to outside, even with the weather control you get.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:13 PM ^
4:00.22
Just missed it. Good to see Hobbs Kessler of AA setting the pace.
I too want to buy Very Nice Track Club gear.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:21 PM ^
Man, when the camera is following them it doesn't even look like they're working that hard. And then they cut to a stationary shot as they all run by and you realize how fast they're all moving. I think my best mile of all time was in the high 5s, but that was back when the years started with a 19. These days (closing in on 45) I can usually do 2 miles in my neighborhood in about 15 flat if I push it, and I'm totally cool with that.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:22 PM ^
I've always been astonished at how those elite mile guys could keep up that pace for a mile.
A 4:00 mile works out to about 14.9 seconds per 100m. I doubt at this age I could do the 100m in 14.9 seconds. And those mile guys hold that pace for approximately 16 such 100m segments.
Similarly, the elite marathon guys are doing about 5:15 miles ... for 26 miles.
I don't get it. I can't comprehend that level of performance.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:42 PM ^
Having trained with these elites (back in the day), they are just born with that ability but also are committed to being their best both mentally and physically.
Running a 5:15 mile pace among the elites in the marathon won't buy you a cup of coffee. That's about a 2:15:00 finish time. The best are running in the 2:05 and well under 5 min/mile. Some of the African marathoners have gone 2:02. One may have broken 2 hrs in the past year or so. I'd have to check.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:44 PM ^
That 5:15 number was one I calculated once and plugged into my head. I probably don't want to think about when I did, because then I'd get depressed by how fast the years are going by. :-)
January 7th, 2022 at 2:52 PM ^
Eliud Kipchoge broke the 2 hour mark a couple years ago, although the run was accomplished with pacers rotating in and out, along with pace cars. Never been done in a real race, although he has come dang close. His official WR is 2:01:39, which comes out to a 4:38.4 mile pace. Insane.
January 7th, 2022 at 5:04 PM ^
Link for an article about the sub-2 hour masterpiece.
I know it's "cheating" for World record purposes...but damn...He's also in a class by himself right now on the elite marathon stage.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:32 PM ^
Best I ever did was 4:39 in high school!
Thanks for the Track content.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:36 PM ^
At 38, Nick has kept himself in world class shape. I am sure he'll succeed this indoor season to keep his streak alive.
January 7th, 2022 at 3:09 PM ^
Thanks for posting. It was fun seeing his little kids in Michigan gear.
To post links: the bar above the Comments box shows a B (for boldface), an I (for italics), and then a squashed oval that looks like a link in a chain.
Click that oval, and a box for the link will open.
January 7th, 2022 at 3:20 PM ^
Here’s a link to a GQ article about the same. No doubt he’ll get the job done sometime this year.
January 7th, 2022 at 3:30 PM ^
Can I have the spoiler alert? I'm at work and can't watch the video. Did he do it or not?
January 8th, 2022 at 1:02 PM ^
Really. I'd hate to spoil it for anyone else who might still want to watch it. (Okay, here's a hint: Error page, file not found.)
January 7th, 2022 at 4:31 PM ^
You guys probably know that the mile is the only Imperial distance where the International Whatever Committee still keeps records. But since a mile is about 1609 meters, why is the metric race distance 1500m instead of 1600m? Especially since an official track is 400m per lap? Inquiring minds are curious…
January 7th, 2022 at 5:21 PM ^
Note: The NCAA runs the distances tracked by World Athletics. Here is a link to the 2021 indoor track NCAA championship schedule. They run a full mile (and keep records) for indoor track. But they do the 1500 in outdoor. I think that they use distances that make metric sense in general. So once we get above the sprint events (60m, 100m, 200m, 400m, and [arguably] 800m), the numbers become more even when expressed in km:
- 1500m -> 1.5k (ok...still a half integer, rather than a tenth of an integer) -> 3.75 laps
- 3000m -> 3k (flat indoors, and with steeples outdoors) -> 7.5 laps
- 5000m -> 5k -> 12.5 laps
- 10000m -> 10k -> 25 laps
So, the only other distances run are the mile and the marathon. They've simply decided that not all distance events should be an even number of laps around the track.
January 7th, 2022 at 4:42 PM ^
I thought we were recruiting an Offensive Tackle who could run a 4 minute mile!!!!