New Balance Jack Bolas will attempt the first Sub 4 minute mile in Alaska Friday afternoon

He better do it. Long track, indoors with no wind, and probably some pacing. And his PR is like 3:53 or some sht so he should do it.

yeah there are like 1-2 other new balance guys to pace him. First sub 4 in alaskan. Was hoping Dunbar would do it but he only got a 4:02 with his attempt a couple years ago. it is about time someone ran sub 4 minutes in Alaska

He should let Dunbar do it first.

From NCAA Rulebook:

"4. Marks will not be acceptable if they are set in meets or events as follows:

. . . .

k. Where competitors run any turn on indoor tracks that are 400 meters or longer; or

l. Held on outdoor tracks that are longer than 400 meters

or in lanes where the radius is greater than 50 meters."

Running on a track longer than 400 meters, indoor or outdoor, is like running a road mile. It's not really running "the mile" technically understood.

So, whatever happens tomorrow, it won't be the first true sub-4 in Alaska.

Just out of curiosity, why is that particular track 413 meters? Why wasn't it made as a basic 400 meters?

details details wrote:

So, whatever happens tomorrow, it won't be the first true sub-4 in Alaska.

Wrong. It just won't be the NCAA record first sub-4 in Alaska.

The Alaska Athletics Association or whatever sets the rules as to what counts as a sub-4 in Alaska.

details details wrote: "4. Marks will not be acceptable if they are set in meets or events as follows:

k. Where competitors run any turn on indoor tracks that are 400 meters or longer; or

Ummm, this means all 400 meter indoor tracks are invalid for record purposes. But, 399 meter indoor tracks are okay to go. Who makes up this type of dumb rule?

413 meters?

"The Dome features one of the only 400 meter indoor tracks in the world; the same materials and markings used in the Los Angeles Coliseum for the 1984 Olympic Games. World class athletes still consider this the finest track ever installed in the United States."

Pssh, not impressed. Let's see a sub-4 on Baffin Island.

Alaska will also never catch up with the similarly arctic Oslo, in very prosperous Norway.

Too bad no one gives a sh1t

There is a good reason for this rule.

If there is less curve angle effecting speed, the faster the race.

Jack ran 3:58 !! first sub 4 mile ever in Alaska!!

Here is an article on Bolas' becoming the first sub-4 ever in Alaska:

http://www.adn.com/2013/09/14/3074681/photo-visiting-runner-posts-first.html

I was reading that and saw the picture of the track and was like, "Wait, it's indoors?" I guess it's Alaska but it never crossed my mind it would be indoors.

Then i thought, "Is that an oversized track?" I meant like 300 meters, and then I round this thread and realize it's 413 meters.

I guess the year is 2013 but isn't sort of the beauty of the mile supposed to be 4 laps, one minute each (yes I know a mile is 1609 meters but track used to be in yards)?

Sort of funny. Looks like a good event though.

Maybe worthy of a tiny, tiny asterisk next to it?? Not sure.

I'm skeptical of this "413" number. The website itself calls it a 400 meter track:

http://www.thealaskadome.com/index_sports_trackfield.php

rojo wrote:

I guess the year is 2013 but isn't sort of the beauty of the mile supposed to be 4 laps, one minute each (yes I know a mile is 1609 meters but track used to be in yards)?

ACTUALLY here's your answer:

"Our six lane track features the outer six lanes of an eight lane 400 meter track. Therefore, our inner-most lane measures out to 411 meters which equals roughly 3.95 laps for one mile. This distance is clearly marked on the track itself."

So it looks to me like they had the sprinters in mind, thinking they'd prefer the wider outside lanes, and that the track would still be valid as it's the same size lanes as lanes 3-8 400 meter track. That would also explain it being indoor - it needs to be warm for fast sprint times.

So, is it valid? As valid as running a distance event entirely in lane 3 I guess.

Runner85 wrote:

He should let Dunbar do it first.

NO. Dunbar had his chance to do it on his own. Props to Jack for being creative.

Who cares about this? Why is this even noteworthy?? I'm getting sick of hearing about mile this and that... So cliche these days. A 3:53 miler ran 3:58, big deal. He should be able to solo a sub 4 in practice on any given day.

Good find, kind of strange seeing the mile start line almost halfway through the first turn. I'm guessing they made it "over-sized" to preserve as much space as they could for the infield playing areas.