Mile run facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Athletics Mile run
Gunder Hägg (right) defeats Arne Andersson with a world record time of 4:06.2 min in Gothenburg in 1942.
World records
Men	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) 3:43.13 (1999)
Women	Faith Kipyegon (KEN) 4:07.64 (2023)
Short track world records
Men	Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) 3:47.01sh (2019)
Women	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 4:13.31sh (2016)
World junior (U20) records
Men	Reynold Cheruiyot (KEN) 3:48.06 (2023)
Women	Birke Haylom (ETH) 4:17.13 (2023)

The mile run is a famous running race. It's about 1,609 meters long, which is 1,760 yards. This makes it a middle-distance foot race.

The mile run started in England a long time ago. People used to bet on these races! Even when most sports switched to metric measurements (like meters) in the 1900s, the mile race stayed popular. A big moment was in the 1950s when runners tried to break the amazing four-minute mile barrier.

Today, the 1500 metres race is used in big events like the World Championships and Olympic Games. But the mile run is still very important in athletics. Since 1976, it's the only old-style "imperial" distance that has official world records kept by World Athletics.

Even though the mile isn't in major championships, some famous annual races are the Wanamaker Mile, Dream Mile, Emsley Carr Mile, and Bowerman Mile.

The current world record for men is held by Hicham El Guerrouj from Morocco. He ran it in 3 minutes and 43.13 seconds. For women, the record is held by Faith Kipyegon from Kenya, who ran it in 4 minutes and 7.64 seconds.

The fastest mile ever run was downhill. Craig Wheeler ran it in 3 minutes and 24 seconds in 1993. But this isn't an official record because the course was downhill.

History of the Mile Run

A "statute mile" today is 5,280 feet long. The distance of 1,760 yards for the English mile was set by the Parliament of England in 1593. So, the mile run began in England. It was first used in running contests where people placed bets in the 1700s and 1800s. These races drew huge crowds and many gamblers. This made running a professional sport for the best runners.

In the late 1800s, the mile run was a big part of the difference between professional and amateur sports. Running was becoming very popular. There were separate world records for amateurs and professionals. Professional runners usually had faster times. Exciting races between British runners William Cummings and Walter George brought a lot of attention to the sport. George's races against American Lon Myers also helped. The mile run was also a top event at the amateur AAA Championships. Even though running was in the spotlight, the two groups stayed separate. But as amateur sports grew and professional running declined, this difference became less important in the 1900s.

A statue celebrating Roger Bannister and John Landy's "Miracle Mile" in 1954.

The mile run stayed popular even when track and field sports switched to the metric system. The 1500 metres race, sometimes called the "metric mile," was added to the Olympic athletics programme. The International Amateur Athletics Federation started in 1912. The next year, they officially recognized the first world record in the mile. It was 4 minutes and 14.4 seconds, set by John Paul Jones.

The mile run is the only old "imperial" distance that kept its official world record status after 1976. This shows how popular it remained around the world. Even decades later, the distance is still widely used. It's often a way to measure how good a distance runner is.

Top male middle-distance runners kept competing in the mile run in the first half of the 1900s. Famous names like Paavo Nurmi, Jack Lovelock, and Sydney Wooderson all held world records for the distance. In the 1940s, Swedish runners Gunder Hägg and Arne Andersson pushed the times even faster. They each set three world records during their rivalry.

The goal of running a mile in under four minutes created huge excitement in the 1950s. Even today, many runners still aim for this tough goal. Englishman Roger Bannister was the first to do it in May 1954. He had help from Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway. This effort was a key moment for using pacemakers in top-level races. Pacemakers are now common in many middle and long-distance races that aren't championships. Good pacemakers can even earn a lot of money for their work.

Runners competing in the Women's Mile at the Adidas Boost Boston Games in 2019.

In the 1960s, American Jim Ryun set world records close to 3 minutes and 50 seconds. His achievements made interval workouts popular. These training methods are still widely used today, especially by college runners. Jim Ryun was also the first high school student to run a mile in under four minutes. From this time on, African runners started to become very strong. They began to break the dominance of mostly white, Western runners. Kip Keino from Kenya won the mile at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. This was one of the last mile races held at a big multi-sport event as of 2021.

Filbert Bayi from Tanzania became Africa's first world record holder for the mile in 1975. However, John Walker from New Zealand broke Bayi's record a few months later. Walker was the first man to run under 3 minutes and 50 seconds. The 1980s were famous for the rivalry between British runners Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett. They improved the record five times between them, including two records at the Oslo Dream Mile race. Noureddine Morceli brought the mile record back to African hands in 1993. Then, Hicham El Guerrouj from Morocco set the current record of 3:43.13, which has stood since 1999.

Mile run contests are still a key part of many yearly track and field events. This includes races for fun, high school, and college competitions.

In the United States, especially in many high school (NFHS) competitions, the 1600m race is often run instead of the mile.

At the professional level, races like the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games, the Dream Mile at the Bislett Games, the British Emsley Carr Mile, and the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic are among the most important. Besides track races, mile races are also sometimes held in cross country running. There are also road mile races, like the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City. However, in high school and college cross country, races are often measured in kilometers, like 5K and 8K.

The fastest non-downhill mile run by a man since Hicham El Guerrouj's record in 1999 was Jakob Ingebrigtsen's 3:43.73. He ran this at the 2023 Bowerman Mile.

Mile Run Records

Hicham El Guerrouj from Morocco (left) holds the world record for the outdoor mile.

Outdoor Records

Area	Men's		Women's
	Time	Athlete	Time	Athlete
World	3:43.13	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	4:07.64	Faith Kipyegon (KEN)
Continental records
Africa	3:43.13	Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)	4:07.64	Faith Kipyegon (KEN)
Asia	3:47.97	Daham Najim Bashir (QAT)	4:17.75	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)
Europe	3:43.73	Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR)	4:12.33	Sifan Hassan (NED)
North, Central America and Caribbean	3:43.97	Yared Nuguse (USA)	4:16.71	Mary Slaney (USA)
Oceania	3:47.48	Oliver Hoare (AUS)	4:15.34	Jessica Hull (AUS)
South America	3:51.05	Hudson de Souza (BRA)	4:30.05	Soraya Vieira Telles (BRA)

Indoor Records

Area	Men's		Women's
	Time	Athlete	Time	Athlete
World	3:47.01	Yomif Kejelcha (ETH)	4:13.31	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)
Continental records
Africa	3:47.01	Yomif Kejelcha (ETH)	4:13.31	Genzebe Dibaba (ETH)
Asia	3:57.05	Mohamed Suleiman (QAT)	4:24.71	Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR)
Europe	3:48.87	Josh Kerr (GBR)	4:17.14	Doina Melinte (ROM)
North, Central America and Caribbean	3:47.38	Yared Nuguse (USA)	4:16.85	Elle Purrier (USA)
Oceania	3:50.83	Ollie Hoare (AUS)	4:24.14	Kim Smith (NZL)
South America	3:56.26	Hudson de Souza (BRA)	4:42.24	Valentina Medina (VEN)

Road Records

Area	Men's		Women's
	Time	Athlete	Time	Athlete
World	3:53.3h	Edward Cheserek (KEN)	4:20.98	Dirbe Welteji (ETH)
Continental records
Africa	3:53.3h	Edward Cheserek (KEN)	4:20.98	Dirbe Welteji (ETH)
Asia	4:01.26	Ryoji Tatezawa (JPN)	4:32.0h	Nozomi Tanaka (JPN)
Europe	3:56.41	Callum Elson (GBR)	4:29.0h	Maria Akraka (SWE)
North, Central America and Caribbean	3:55.0h	Jordan McNamara (USA)	4:25.0h	Ellinor Purrier (USA)
Oceania	3:56.57	Nick Willis (NZL)	4:32.0h	Linden Hall (AUS)
South America	4:02.75	Guilherme Kurtz (BRA)	none	none

Youth Age Records

These tables show the fastest mile times for young runners at different ages. Key:       Incomplete information

Boys' Records

Age	Time	Athlete	Nation	Birthdate	Date	Place	Ref
5	6:33.3	Daniel Skandera	United States	2 November 2007	23 July 2013	Santa Rosa
6	5:44.4	Daniel Skandera	United States	2 November 2007	5 August 2014	Santa Rosa
7	5:20.3	Daniel Skandera	United States	2 November 2007	9 June 2015	Santa Rosa
8	5:12.1	Daniel Skandera	United States	2 November 2007	9 August 2016	Santa Rosa
9	5:02.5	Daniel Skandera	United States	2 November 2007	27 June 2017	Santa Rosa
10	4:46.6	Daniel Skandera	United States	2 November 2007	24 July 2018	Santa Rosa
11	4:36.04	Archie Sideridis	Australia	18 October 2011	9 February 2023	Melbourne
12	4:35.66	Quenton Lanese	United States	4 March 2011	20 May 2023	Mercer Island
13	4:22.33	Jackson Miller	United States	11 June 1999	1 June 2023	St. Louis
14	4:11.20	Angus Wilkinson	Great Britain	16 January 2009	26 August 2023	Stirling
15	4:05.77	Corey Campbell	Great Britain	26 July 2006	20 May 2022	Stirling
16	3:55.44	Cameron Myers	Australia	9 June 2006	23 February 2023	Melbourne
17	3:50.90	Hamza Driouch	Qatar	16 November 1994	7 June 2012	Oslo
18	3:48.93	Niels Laros	Netherlands	17 April 2005	16 September 2023	Eugene
19	3:48.06	Reynold Cheruiyot	Kenya	30 July 2004	16 September 2023	Eugene

Girls' Records

Age	Time	Athlete	Nation	Birthdate	Date	Place	Ref
6	6:36.0	Celine Struijvé	Netherlands	10 November 2012	17 September 2019	Epe
7	6:05.1	Kristina Wilson	United States	5 December 1963	5 June 1971
8	5:43.5	Imogen Stewart	Australia	27 July 2005	10 December 2013	Sydney
9	5:18.74	Imogen Stewart	Australia	27 July 2005	17 January 2015	Wollongong
10	5:04.19	Imogen Stewart	Australia	27 July 2005	16 January 2016	Wollongong
11	4:56.08	Imogen Stewart	Australia	27 July 2005	4 March 2017	Sydney
12	4:46.57	Imogen Stewart	Australia	27 July 2005	13 January 2018	Wollongong
13	4:44.73	Imogen Stewart	Australia	27 July 2005	22 December 2018	Sydney
14	4:40.1 i	Mary Decker	United States	4 August 1958	16 March 1973	Richmond
15	4:35.16	Sadie Engelhardt	United States	21 August 2006	9 April 2022	Arcadia
16	4:28.25 i	Mary Cain	United States	3 May 1996	16 February 2013	New York City
17	4:24.11 i	Mary Cain	United States	3 May 1996	24 January 2014	Boston
18	4:24.10 i	Kalkidan Gezahegne	Ethiopia	8 May 1991	20 February 2010	Birmingham
19	4:17.57	Zola Budd	Great Britain	26 May 1966	21 August 1985	Zürich

See also

• 5 Mile - 5 mile run