THREE HS boys just went sub-4 last night. It didn't even get a secondary headline on the front page.

It’s one hundred percent worth celebrating. Just think about how many things need to go perfectly to plan to run a sub 4 mile. We’re not seeing 15+ boys going sub 4 every year, I think we’ve only seen 3 so far this year (?). It is still extremely difficult to achieve.

A decade ago, none of those boys are breaking 4.

and you still told us nothing about it...

And in 1967 they would have all broken 4

its worth celebrating sure, and i think a a secondary spot on the front page would absolutely be a good spot.

It absolutely has lost a ton of luster though. Now its just another barrier to break and instead of entering every year thinking "wouldn't it be crazy if someone threatened 4 minutes this year?" you are thinking "i wonder how many kids are going to break it this year"

Good for them it's not.

This is the flip-side of the "the shoes are killing the sport" argument. Both sides of this coin are just yelling at clouds.

"Shoes are killing the sport!" Wishes everyone would shut up about the new fast times that are in large part a result of the shoes.

"Wow, 3 HSers broke 4!" Wishes everyone would pretend that the shoes haven't diminished traditional accomplishments.

Just like the sport is not going back to non-super-shoes, like it or not, journalists and track fans are naturally going to start yawning at things that used to be rare and exciting.

Breaking nine minutes for two miles used to be a pretty big thing, too. Times change (pun not intended).

Anyway, here's a kid running 3:58 in high school-only competition. Without super shoes, and on a natural surface. Sixty-plus years ago.

Don’t even need a time machine. Just have them run in spikes from 2018. I have a pair I can donate.

3 more were below 4:01.

Not as big a deal anymore, and with this class, expectations were high for many.

Still several big meets to go.

When looking at results, I was surprised Jim Ryun still holds the U20 mile record at 3:51.

A decade ago way fewer people were doing a bunch of threshold (except a small amount were starting to).. And they started breaking 4 back then, Drew Hunter and Grant Fisher. Lucas V a few years before that... The number of sub 4's in high school had been steadily picking up since Lucas V about 15 years ago, increasing before and after 'super shoes'...

I also think things have changed in that, kids now are 19 years old when graduating HS. I didn't turn 18 until after I graduated HS (in July). Its why I don't care much about class records (MS/Freshman/Sophomore/Junior/Senior) and I'd much rather hear about U14, U15, U16, U17, U18 because you get a better context of where someone is at in the maturation process.

This times a million. The number 2 ranked 9th grade boys for both the 1600 and 3200 are reclassified freshmen. The old frosh mile record holder (Tostenson) was 19 when he graduated from high school. Age records are much more compelling, but it's just not the way we track records in the US

How many of the 3 guys who broke 4 last night are 19?

I know Jackson isn't. Not sure about Carter or Burns.

The silent film era before they had what would be known as talkies.

I remember some years where no HS athlete would break 9. Now, we’ll have a few dozen in a single race alone.

I think 3:56 is the equivalent to a previous sub- 4:00. How many HS athletes have run under 3:57 all time? I imagine very few.

it's not as exciting anymore. Training has improved. shoes have improved.

We've been deceived b/c great college runners/pros don't nec break 4 in high school, (Cole Hocker, etc) and some who break 4 in high school do nothing in college and as pros. These days, many who break 4 at that age had elite training in high school, and may or may not go onto greatness post high school. E.g., Brian Burns - his dad is the coach at Arkansas, so he has access to better training than 99%.