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Running Journal • May, 2018
www.running.net
Masters Running and Beyond Barriers are Made to be Broken! When Roger Bannister passed away earlier this year at the age of 88, we were reminded that there once was a seemingly impossible, almost magical barrier in running: The four minute mile. This is not the only “magical barrier” in running of course, but it is probably the most prolific. It's a mark which we once thought was meant to never be broken. Until one windy evening in May of 1954, when Bannister became the first to run a sub four. He was a 25 year old medical student at the time, and an accomplished runner, having finished fourth in the 1,500 meters at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. And it was probably a blessing in disguise that he didn't medal, because if he did he would probably have retired from running and focused on his medical career. But now he felt he still had some unfinished business in his running. So he continued to train, fitting in workouts in his spare time, between studying and shifts at the hospital. And he was one of a few men who were chasing the seemingly impossible four minute barrier. My fellow Swede Gunder Hägg held a world record that had stood for nine years. He had posted a 4:01.4 in Malmö, Sweden, in 1945. Since then, in addition to Bannister himself, Australian John Landy and American Wes Santee had come close to that mark. But a four minute mile? There was a myth going on at the time that the human heart would explode if it was made to work that hard! Fast forward to the early evening of May 6, 1954. After a full day's work at the hospital, Roger Bannister arrived at the Iffley Road cinder track at Oxford, and put on his spikes. In spite of unfavorable conditions with 15 mph winds, he decided to give the four minute mile a try. With the help of two pacers and a cheering crowd, he completed the four laps around the track in 3:59.4, and history was made! The crowd must have carried him through the final lap, as Bannister much later remarked that he “was at the point of collapse at the time of the finish”. Once the four minute barrier was broken, it wasn't long until happened again. After only 46 days, John Landy broke Bannister's word record, running the mile in 3:58.0. And by the end of 1957, 16 runners had logged sub four minute miles. The ice had been broken, and running a four minute mile was no longer impossible. Since then we have seen several other “impossible” barriers being broken. Running 100 meters in under 10 seconds, for example. Or a sub-2:20 marathon for women. A few had come close, including American Joan Benoit Samuelson, with a
By Lena Hollmann
2:21:21 clocking in 1985. But the barrier remained unbroken until September 2001, when Naoko Takahashi of Japan ran a 2:19:46 at the Berlin Marathon. This seemed to open the door for Katherine Ndereba of Kenya to produce an even faster effort. Only a week later she ran a 2:18:47 at the Chicago Marathon. As of this writing more than 20 women have posted marathon times under 2:20, including our own Deena Kastor with a 2:19:36. And now we are staring at the two hour barrier in the marathon for men! The first one to break 2:10 was Derek Clayton of Australia, in 1967. Today, more than half a century later, the official world record is 2:02:57. And we are wondering whether we will someday see a sub two hour marathon. Will it happen in our lifetime? Will it happen at all? Is it humanly possible to run at a 4:35 pace per mile for 26.2 miles?? On May 6, 2017, in Monza, Italy, there was a staged race with three of the world's best, in the hope of getting it done. However the winner, Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, fell 25 seconds short. But hang in there my friends, since this is only one second per mile short of the goal! So sooner or later it will most likely happen. And then it will happen again, and again… Because once a magical barrier is broken, it's no longer magical. Once it is proven something can be done, it somehow loses its mystique. If it can be done once, it can be done again! I can relate to this concept from personal experience as well. Once in a different lifetime (or at least so it seems) I struggled for four years to break 2:50 in the marathon. After running a 2:51:45 in 1979 I was thrilled by my accomplishment, but soon I set my sights on breaking 2:50. I came close again at the Avon International Marathon in 1980, running a 2:50:51. But it would be another three years before I had my breakthrough. At the 1983 New York City Marathon I ran a 2:44:10, and probably nobody was more surprised than I was! I
had finally broken the ice, and within the next six months I completed two more sub 2:50 marathons, clocking 2:47 and 2:45. The latter was in the 1984 Boston Marathon, where I was 10th woman. For Travis Wills of Apex, NC, breaking 21 minutes in the 5K seemed impossible at first. He couldn't do it as a child, and came close several times without breaking it as an adult. Then one day, he did it! After that, many other goals didn't seem that insurmountable any more. He soon broke 20 minutes, then 19 minutes, and then one day he ran an 18:27, which is his personal best. After a few years away from running he's now chasing the 21 minute mark again. But since he did it before he knows what it takes to do it again. “I know it is hard to do but also know it can be done,” he said. It isn't always specific race times that we want to reach. Sometimes it can be to finish a challenging race or event, for a triathlete maybe to finish an Ironman. And for an elite runner it could be to make the Olympic Team. For Shalane Flanagan it was to win a major marathon. She is an extremely talented and hard working runner and I know of very few of her caliber. Still, a major marathon win seemed to elude her every time. Until last November when she won the New York City Marathon! She had planned to retire after New York, but her win gave her renewed confidence and motivation. Now we will see her in Boston, which as of this writing is just a few weeks away. And I will not be surprised if she's the one who breaks the tape there too! There are always going to be barriers to break, and mountains to climb. Mount Everest has been climbed many times, yet that was once upon a time also deemed impossible. We all have our own personal mountains to climb, or obstacles that seem like mountains. We have personal “magical barriers” we want to break, both in running and in other endeavors. And whether you want to break 40 minutes in the 10K or finish a marathon, you will find it hardest to accomplish your goal the first time. Once you have shown yourself that it can be done, it's much easier to do it again. Therefore, the next time you have a magical barrier you want to break, tell yourself you already did it, and that it's a piece of cake. As long as your goal is a realistic one, maybe a little positive self talk is all you need to get there! Lena Hollmann is a certified personal trainer with American Council on Exercise (ACE). She lives and runs in Naples, FL, and can be reached at lenahollmann@gmail.com
AFTER THE RUN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 gulp, and gave an audible sound of relief. With the cup of water consumed, we were back at it. The race boasted a rolling course of hills. We therefore decided to run the downhills and walk the rest. For the next mile and a half, Chase verbally narrated his experience as he stayed anywhere from a foot to 10 feet behind me. “Oh my God! Oh My God! OMG! OMG!” he would yell while running the downhills. “You go ahead. I know where you are going,” he would try to suggest as we walked the uphill sections of the unfamiliar-to-him course. “My feet are killing me,” or “I think I'm done,” he would say when he thought we were at a good stopping place along the route, and each time we reached a shaded stretch, grateful for the mature trees, he would say, “Oh this is a nice neighborhood.” Yet by the time we reached the final half mile, Chazzy had found a nice rhythm. During the downhills, he ran ahead of me and when we walked, he wanted to know about our time. When I finally told Chase that we were nearing the finish line and that it was right around the corner, he took off! I ran to catch up with him and imagined the two of us crossing the finish line together with raised arms and smiles of success. However, four or five feet in front of the finish line, Chazzy stopped. “Come on, Buddy,” I encouraged. “I'm good,” he said. “You want to run over this finish line to get your medal,” I said, pointing to the matted finish beneath the blue arch. It took a bit more prompting and persuading to finally motivate Chazzy to travel a few more feet, but he did it. A high five and one of the coveted, limited Finisher medals was awaiting his victorious 5k completion. His 'Lucky' shirt lived up to its name indeed, and I was so proud of him. With a chilled bottle of water in one hand, a beautiful medal in the other, and a shaded curbside seat, Chazzy cooled down and reflected on his first 5k experience. “Well, Buddy… what did you think of your very first 5k?” I asked. “Oh, it was wretched!” Chazzy said. Then, looking down at his medal he continued, “I'm just glad I won.” Mary Marcia is a runner and fitness professional navigating her way through the unpredictable terrain of life. She is President of the non-profit organization, the PHEEL GOOD Foundation, and she can be reached at marymarcia@pheelgoodfoundation.com.