Boxers in the 18th and 19th centuries used to fight with unlimited rounds, sometimes exceeding 100 x 3 minute rounds.
And very different rules that allowed them to clinch indefinitely. Long clinch, one or two punches, another long clinch. Same activity to rest ratio as tennis, more or less.
The mile was not standardized in England until 1592, and even then it was only the English mile (different distances prevailed in Scotland and Ireland). Outside of Britain the international recognition of the mile as a standard distance waited on the spread of the British Empire to Africa and Asia (let's say roughly later than 1800). So the question narrows down to whether any competitor in Britain or North America broke the mile record prior to that time.
Timing is another issue, accurate portable (spring-driven) clocks were not available until well after 1759 (invention of the Lever escapement by Thomas Mudge). The most accurate clock at that time was Harrison's clock (a pendulum clock used for navigation), good to 3 seconds a day, but only a small handful of those clocks were in existence at that time for the sole purpose of allowing ships to determine longitude at sea.
So we can eliminate any claims to a measurable four minute mile prior to 1760 (at best)
We also have to consider that hand timing invariably reduces the athlete's elapsed time by about .18 +- .08 seconds in scientific studies of hand timing of 40 yard dashes. Perhaps we should also ask the question, did Bannister really break 4 minutes - one might think that the hand timing of a mile race would have significantly greater error than the timing of a 40 yard dash? I'm not sure 3:59.4 gives him a big enough margin of error.
It is conceivable that someone ran a sub four “mile” long ago. A courier, military scout, footman, or pedestrian likely ran from one village to another. The respective villages were known to be a mile apart according to maps or surveys of the time (likely 1400-1500 meters if measured with modern equipment). On a day with a strong tailwind and a 100 foot drop on the road between the two villages, this man covered the “mile” in an amazingly swift time of just over 3 and 7/8 minutes timed by a horse rider that was alongside. This achievement became part of the local lore and was largely forgotten until someone found an old newspaper or diary much later.
Was a true sub four possible? Yes. Did an accurately measured, flat sub four mile happen? Likely, not.
There is story of a sub four mile being run on a cavalry post, maybe in Kansas, maybe in the 1870s. If you believe the story both the timing and measurement were accurate. If I can track it down I'll post it but that's a big if. There was a British runner called Ken Wood, a contemporary of Bannister's who claimed he ran under four in training before Bannister did it. He has the credentials to make the claim credible, 8:34 for two miles and 3:59.3 for a mile in 1957. But again, there's no way either to prove or disprove his claim.
From Wikipedia-
Captain Luther North recorded this of Pawnee Scout, Black Hawk Chief..
"Black Hawk Chief... [sic] one of my favorites, was the fastest runner in the tribe, and I believe the world... while at Sidney after coming down from the Dull Knife expedition, another man and I timed him, both with stop watches. He ran the first half in 2 minutes flat and the second in 1:58 or the mile in 3.58 – so much faster than ever done before that we didn’t believe the track was right, and had it measured with a steal [sic] tape. I had him run again. To this day [written in 1930] no man has ever equaled it―my reason for believing that he was the fastest man on his feet. The army stripped him and went carefully over him, stating afterward that Hawk Chief was the most perfect specimen of man he had ever seen."[1]
The amount of specific training it takes to even run under 4:20 in the mile is insane. There is no way that a caveman, or any random person throughout history randomly ran a sub 4 mile before Bannister. I bet that the fastest mile that anyone ran before they kept records and actually raced was probably only slightly under 4:50. And by before they kept records, I mean in the 1700s and earlier.
Walter George ran a 4:12 mile (and a 4:10 mile in a handicap race) in the 1880s with very unspecific training. The training he is best known for is the 100-Up exercise which appears to be a high knee drill.
Walter George was an extremely gifted athlete. If born in, say 1990, he would have run under 3:50.
It's incredible how little grasp some people have of how poor people were just 100 years ago. People didn't have time, knowledge, access to nutrients, shoes, facilities...nothing required to get anywhere near sub 4:00 shape.
It's incredible how little grasp some people have of how poor people were just 100 years ago. People didn't have time, knowledge, access to nutrients, shoes, facilities...nothing required to get anywhere near sub 4:00 shape.
You state that but do you know Lon Myers, first man known to sprint sub-50 440 yard dash did so, circa 1885. Didn't Lon Myers sprint 600 yards, 71.xx? How many of you can do either?
The signers of the Declaration of Independence, led by Charles Carroll of Carrolton (which is what Eugene, OR was called back then), failed to break the barrier back on July 4:00, 1776 in Philadelphia. In November 1863 Abe Lincoln spoke about his past running prowess (seven years earlier) in his Gettysburg Address when he bragged, "Sub-4 score and seven years ago..." He was the first to break 4 minutes, you know...honest!
Walter George still raced and competed several times before going sub 4:20. He was entering meets and training to the best of his knowledge. Although not ideal that is specific training. Lets go back to ancient times, I promise you that some random Spartan Soldier is not randomly breaking 4:50 in the mile off his war training, or a random Caveman hunting for food sprinting a barefoot sub 4 mile.
Prehistoric man was just concerned with survival. Just run faster than the slowest prey.
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