4 lessons from a race for the impossible.

Prior to 1954 May 06, running a mile in less than 4:00 minutes was widely-believed to be “impossible”. But on that day at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track, Roger Bannister ran the mile in 3:59.40. How many times have you come across something in your work that is “impossible” … until a competitor or a colleague or someone else does it? Then the impossible becomes the urgently necessary, and you must achieve the same standard or step off the stage.

In running, John Landy soon bested the 4 minute barrier, and on 1954 Aug 07, Bannister and Landy faced off in the mile event dubbed “The Miracle Mile”. The photo shows a statue that commemorates the result: Bannister ran the race in 3:58.80, and John Landy, who looked over his shoulder for Bannister as Bannister raced by, ran it in 3:59.60. 

What lessons can we learn from these races?

1. Sometimes the impossible is closer than you think! After Bannister’s 4th place finish at the 1952 Olympic Games, he set a new goal, to be first to run a 4-minute mile. He intensified his training, likely after identifying the barriers.

2. Have “pacemakers” to help you. In the race,  Bannister had fellow-runners Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher as pacemakers. If you’re the best, surround yourself with talent who can push you on parts as  Chataway and Brasher did for Bannister.

3. Don’t look back over your shoulder. Yes the competition is right behind! Remember Lot’s wife! Landy learned the hard way.

4. Enjoy and celebrate the win. People remember Roger Bannister, but few remember who Landy is, except as a lesson. That said, they both went on to have seemingly wonderful lives, with Landy dying at the age of 91 in Feb 2022.

There are times that the best move is to quit, but that’s for another blog.

Statue: Jack Harman  Photo: Paul Joseph from vancouver, bc, canada, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons