If you ran a 4:17.98 mile, would you say you ran a 4:17 or a 4:18 and why?

"If you ran a hand timed 4:17.88, your result wound read 4:17.9.
That’s a 4:17.
If you ran FAT 4:17.976, the result would read 4:17.98.
That’s a 4:17."

____________________________________________________________________________

So if you ran (4:17.99999 hand timed) that would be a 4:18 right????

Just say'in

obviously it's 4:17, if you ran 4:17.0000000000001 you'd still say 4:17 because it's 4:17.

that said, i think the most accurate track lingo for a 4:17.9 would be "4:17-high"

Round generously. 4:59.99 = four-minute mile.

Just kidding. But really, with any time over 1:00, take out the milliseconds and you have your time.

I agree. Or even more simple, we dont tell people what our best times are in decimals in conversation do we? Maybe 200/400 people might say "25 high" or "51 high" if talking to a coach. 100 people definitely like to talk decimals, nobody says I run 9 sec for the 100! Anything with minutes and sec needs no decimals in conversation.

this guy has a point...

I agree to some extent. What about the 800 though? I usually say 1:56 low for example because I think about it as 2 400s (where I would say low and high). I feel like it could go either way, though. Some people probably say 1:59 and just leave it at that.

I think it's simple in this case, you ran 4:17.

I think it's a bit more up in the air for longer distances. For instance, my PR in the half marathon is 1:10:59, but I hesitate to tell people that I've run 1:10. I often opt for: "I ran sub-1:11" or "I ran just under 1:11."

What do other people do in the case of longer distances?

I ran 4:09.99 for 1500 when I was a young master. I never say I ran 4:09, I always say just under 4:10, or else I give the precise time. It just feels a little dirty to claim nearly a whole second for 1500, to me anyway...

4:17. why? Because I did. Watch Bannister's first sub 4 video. Nobody heard the exact time because the cheering was so loud after the announcer said "time of 3...." Didn't matter, it was sub 4.

My 1500 PR ends in .98, so I just mumble that part

So you ran 15:59 and said you ran 17 flat?

I always round up and let people infer a "sub" in the time.

I just don't see where the rounding down ends. If someone runs a 2:34:56.98 marathon, can they say "I run a two hour marathon"? No. Could they say "2:30"... meh, not to me. I'd say "2:35" because if you gave them that much time, they could complete the distance.

But I know I am in the minority on this.

"just under 4:10" IS 4:09...lol It literally says 4:09. If somebody asks you your PR just say "4:09.99" or "4:09.9"

4:20

And most people including a lot of runners couldn't tell a difference if this is good or bad.

Probably like 4:46.

I'm not sure what I would do, but I know what most people would do. They would say they ran 4:08.

I ran 4:17.9 as a junior in high school in 1979 when I broke 4:20 for the first time. Do you really think I would tell people that I was a 4:18 miler?

A mile, I'm guessing, but that's entirely based on the content of this thread. I wasn't there.

I ran a 1:59.63 half. I always say that I broke 2:00