yes, I ran sub 4 off of 1:50 and 14:07 (with plenty left in the tank for the 5000)
I think it was nick willis who said that if you can run a 50 second 400 and a 20 minute 4 mile tempo, you can run sub-4. For the tempo, obviously you could race to a faster time, but if you can go out on any old workout day, run 20 mins for 4 miles staying well within yourself, and then do more workout stuff, then you're aerobically good to go.
When Eamon Coghlan was preparing to run under 4:00 for the mile at the age of 40, one of his warm up races was a 1:55 half.
After the 1:55, he said it helped him to remember "what it feels like to run a 4:00 mile." I'd assume he was referring to pushing through that growing burn a runner feels as they slide from aerobic into anaerobic effort.
To prepare for a mile race, it is certainly necessary to put your system in that state, until you can tolerate quite a bit of it. Gradual resistance to a sort of exquisite torture.
I conclude it'd be better to run 1:55 in preparation, than a 14:00 5000 meter, if you want to be a 4:00 miler. Well, as Coughlan was likely running a 1:55 half mile, let's make that a 1:54 800 meter in today's racing.
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Absolutely not, No. Anyone worth their salt knows it takes exactly 1:48.634 to break 4:00 in the mile.
I ran a 3:59 mile with PRs of 1:54.9 and 13:39. I don't personally know anyone with a slower 800m PR than me who has broken 4, but it is certainly possible that they exist.
Callum Elson (thedistanceproject on youtube/IG) ran a 3:53 Mile off of a 1:49.87 PR. Obviously running it off a 1:51 is not going to be the easiest way to do it but it's certainly possible
I had 1:51 - 3:44 - 14:40. So not quite 4:00 mile, but close.
Aerobically (despite running reasonably high mileage for many years), I was pretty weak compared to the middle distance events. I suspect I probably could have run in the 14:20s if I raced the 5K more than four times in my entire career, but not faster than that.
I suspect someone would need low 1:50s to break 4:00 if they are a pure middle-distance runner. Someone running under 14:00 for 5k could probably run 4:00 off of 1:52 - 1:53 speed.
Best 800m: 1:52.05
Best Mile: 4:01.49
A college rival of mine ran 4:00.10 with a 1:55 800m best.