If I ran a 3:42 1500 can I tell people I’m a sub -4 miler?

A bit of a stretch wrote:

The days are over when I could try again. The races I did at the time were almost all 1500m with the exception of some indoor mile races (which may have been 1600 for all I know) at which I ran a best of 401.

So I’m left with this 1500 but the rest of the world asks about the mile.

Saying that you've run 4:01 is sufficiently impressive.

In real life, I've never had chance to talk about running PRs to people who aren't runners. And even talking to other runners, PRs don't really come up either. Does this really happen often enough to matter?

sbeefyk2 wrote:

You can people anything you want. You can be a 3:59 1500 runner and tell people you’re a sub 4 miler. They don't know and don’t care. Only runners will know you aren’t.

Sub 4 *cough* metric *cough* miler.

Though I ran a 3:58 1500m, thank you very much.

Runners get too tied to the numbers ... there's nothing special about running a mile in under 240 seconds.

Yet turn it into minutes and it suddenly becomes this special event to be proud of because it's a nice round number.

Find the enjoyment in the journey, not the arbitrary divisions of time. As other posters have said, most people won't have a clue whether your time is special or not. They'd be impressed if you told them you ran a mile in under seven minutes.

With non-runners I wouldn't sweat it. None of them know what a 1500 is, so your time is meaningless. I would actually think less of someone who said "well, my PR in the 1500, the metric version of the mile, is 3:42, which is considered equivalent to 4-flat in the mile, but I haven't actually run a 4-minute mile because it's a rarely contested distance these days." Sure, it's accurate, but it's also obnoxious to the average person. People don't care that much about your athletic achievements, so better to just be as brief as possible.

doctorj wrote:

doctorj wrote:

No, you have to ACTUALLY run the mile in less than 4, very simple. Your idea will make a bunch of 2:07-2:10 marathoners claiming to be 2:04-2:05 guys. Get real.

I meant Your idea will make a bunch of 2:07-2:10 marathoners claiming to be 2:04-2:05 guys based on their 10k track times without actually running the marathon at 2:04-2:05. Get real

Still wrong. We're talking about a conversion for a distance of less than 10%. I would have no issues with a pro runner converting his 15k time to a 10 mile when talking with layperson from a non-metric country. It's not about exaggerating performance or about projecting what you MIGHT be capable of.

Ok, so a mile, 1600, and 1500 are probably close enough to convert between.

15k and 10 mile can be converted between.

20K & half mary I would assume as well.

What about 10 miler and half mary? Not sure that is close enough distance.

10k & half mary definitely not. Too much difference in distance.

3000, 3200, and 2 mile are all convertable.

Steeplechase has too many variables to convert I would think. I've known guys who are great at 3k but terrible over barriers. I've known guys who are significantly better over barriers than in open races.

5k and 3 mile, 10k and 6 mile, 8k and 5 mile should all be acceptable.

8k/5 mile to 10k is too much, I think.

Any other distances that are acceptable to convert between?

A bit of a stretch wrote:

The days are over when I could try again. The races I did at the time were almost all 1500m with the exception of some indoor mile races (which may have been 1600 for all I know) at which I ran a best of 401.

So I’m left with this 1500 but the rest of the world asks about the mile.

This begs the obvious question if you really did what you say you did:

HTF can you run a 4:01 and not know if it was a 1600M or a full mile?

Oh Please wrote:

Kenenisa Bekele is not a sub 4 minute miler. Sure, he ran 3:32 1500, a 4:50 2k (3:53 pace) and a 7:25 3k (3:59 pace), however he never ran a mile under 4.

He broke 4:00 a bunch of times, it was just en route and in closing!

800 dude wrote:

With non-runners I wouldn't sweat it. None of them know what a 1500 is, so your time is meaningless. I would actually think less of someone who said "well, my PR in the 1500, the metric version of the mile, is 3:42, which is considered equivalent to 4-flat in the mile, but I haven't actually run a 4-minute mile because it's a rarely contested distance these days." Sure, it's accurate, but it's also obnoxious to the average person. People don't care that much about your athletic achievements, so better to just be as brief as possible.

I disagree. I would love to know someone's talent level in language I can understand if I was not involved in their sport of expertise. Especially if it is measured on such a well-known level as a 4:00 Mile.

Oh Please wrote:

Kenenisa Bekele is not a sub 4 minute miler. Sure, he ran 3:32 1500, a 4:50 2k (3:53 pace) and a 7:25 3k (3:59 pace), however he never ran a mile under 4.

You are an idiot.

He is absolutely a sub 4 miler. He has actually run a mile in under 4 minutes on multiple occasions at the end of longer races.

He has physically covered the distance of 1 mile in under 4 minutes.

^^^ Pointed it out twice for you, just in case.

Oh Please wrote:

Kenenisa Bekele is not a sub 4 minute miler. Sure, he ran 3:32 1500, a 4:50 2k (3:53 pace) and a 7:25 3k (3:59 pace), however he never ran a mile under 4.

TrackBot! PRs Kenenisa Bekele

Jerry Maguire wrote:

Oh Please wrote:

Kenenisa Bekele is not a sub 4 minute miler. Sure, he ran 3:32 1500, a 4:50 2k (3:53 pace) and a 7:25 3k (3:59 pace), however he never ran a mile under 4.

You are an idiot.

He is absolutely a sub 4 miler. He has actually run a mile in under 4 minutes on multiple occasions at the end of longer races.

He has physically covered the distance of 1 mile in under 4 minutes.

^^^ Pointed it out twice for you, just in case.

Yeah, did he even run an outdoor mile? i see he did one indoor at 4:01 but people forget he also has the indoor 2,000m world record of 4:49...there is no way that is not a sub 4 mile and in fact could be close to the equivalent of the indoor mile record

As a Senior in college I ran 3:42.7 in the fast collegiate heat at Mt Sac. I tell most people I was a 4 min miler. If they get technical I ran 4:01. Exact conversion is 4:00.05 or so.

Always regretted not having the opportunity to run a full mile when in that kind of shape but it was such a battle to get to the right race with the right field. At Mt Sac there was a Sunday mile with the pros but invite only. Political enough just to get into the "A" heat in collegiate sections. The rest of my season was races at altitude or conference/nationals where races were slow and tactical. Indoors for me was winter/snow and never ideal to be in top form.

I don't think I'd claim sub 4 unless I actually had it for the distance or was consistently a sub 3:40 guy. Even then there will always be someone who asks where and what race and knows the difference between 1500 and the mile.

No. The statement is a claim to have actually and literally run a mile in less than 4 minutes. You either did it or you didn't.

If there's a conversion needed to get under 4 minutes (1500 to mile, altitude conversion or whatever) then you didn't actually run a mile in under 4 minutes and you aren't a sub-4 minute miler. If you ran a downhill sub-4 like David Torrence, you're a sub-4 minute miler because you literally and actually ran sub-4, even if it's deceptive and shady in that case to tell people you are a sub-4 minute miler without giving an explanation of the circumstances.

If you want to say to non-runners "I COULD have broken 4 in the mile," and want to justify that, I think that's fair. If you want to say "I ran the 1500, which is the metric mile, in a time that converts to under a 4 minute mile," then that's fair.

Too many words for anyone to care.

It's sub 4 in the mile or Olympic trials qualifying 1500m or nothing.

klodo wrote:

I would say something like "The mile is rarely run so it is tough to achieve your best performance on the day, but my time for 1500m, a similar event, is not far off from being in sub-4:00 shape".

Something like that?

LOL.

I told a co-worker than I ran 4:20 in a weekend meet, and by the end of the week the word around the place was that I am a "four-minute miler."

I just went with it.

The best part is that the race was a 1500.

Some random BYU students ran a 3:35 downhill mile on a whim. Is their PR more legitimate than OP’s?

Just out of curiosity, have there been any USATF 1500m finalists that have never broken 4? Anyone ever top 3, without a sub-4, PR? Anyone ever win?

Also, if you run above 4 minutes, wouldn't that mean you are a Super 4 minute miler?