Brad Barton used a 62-second final quarter Saturday night to claim the M45 world record in the indoor mile, clocking 4:16.84 at the Armory track in New York, reports the Armory website. That mark falls short of Tony Young’s never-ratified 4:13.25 run four years ago on the dang oversized track at the University of Washington. But Brad ran the fastest mile indoor for eight laps, so his mark should stick. Afterward, he was quoted as saying: “I didn’t think I could run that fast.” The listed M45 indoor mile record is John Hinton’s 4:20.18 from 2008, which took more than a year to recognize. Also reporting Brad’s brilliant race was his hometown newspaper. Brad told the paper: “My first half-mile was running 2:10.0. The second half was 2:06.8. With 400 meters to go I knew I had the record. The announcer got the crowd into it and I really flew home. I thought I could run 4:19 but bested my own aspirations by well over 2 seconds and smash the previous record by over three seconds.”

Brad Barton at the Armory on his record-setting day.

Here’s the Armory story for posterity:

Brad Barton’s son, a Division I collegiate runner, made the mistake of calling his dad an “old man.”

Barton, once an All-American in the steeplechase at Weber State University in Utah, told him, “When you beat me in the mile, you can call me an old man.”

Well, dad has made it a lot tougher for his son. Running in the mile at the Columbia Final Qualifier on Saturday night at The Armory, Barton ran an age-group world record 4:16.84. Afterward he said, “I didn’t think I could run that fast.”

And with good reason. No one his age (46) had ever broken 4:20 before as the previous mark was 4:20.18 set by John Hinton in 2008. After hitting his 800- and 1,200-meter goals on the nose, he sprinted out a 62-second final 400 to beat a number of competitors half his age.

Barton, who lives in Ogden, Utah, has been chasing that mark for a while. He’d run 4:21.5 in Boise earlier this year and then gave ill-fated efforts in both Boston and Ithaca before finding success at The Armory.

His Saturday night run was also within a second of the age-group outdoor record (4:16.09, Tony Young, 2008), which brought a twinkle to his eye as he began thinking about his next record pursuit.

Barton’s recent run of success has been guided by the same man who guided him a quarter-century ago in college — USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Chick Hislop. Barton ran for Coach Hislop in the early 1990s, qualifying for NCAA Indoors twice and earning All-American status in the steeple in 1991. A few years ago when Barton told Hislop that he was still running 4:30, the coach urged him to see it through.

Now a professional speaker, Barton is sponsored by Get Air Sports, a company that constructs trampoline parks which have been popping up in the West and are now moving East. “The owner and founder is my neighbor,” he said.

Here’s the Standard-Examiner account for ditto:

Years ago, Ogden native Brad Barton thought his chances of breaking a world record had come and gone.

But Saturday night, 46-year-old Barton set a world record in the men’s master mile at the Columbia Final Qualifier at The Armory in New York. Most of the competitors in the men’s mile race were NCAA athletes attempting to qualify for the NCAA indoor championships, which is held next week.

The Columbia Final Qualifier was Barton’s fifth attempt this year to set a new world record. The previous USAFT indoor one-mile run wasters age group world record was 4:20.18, set in 2008 by John Hinton.

“I have struggled with injury and illness and haven’t felt right the last few weeks. But my coach made some important adjustments in my training schedule that seemed to make a difference,” Barton said. “I just felt great Saturday.”

Barton ran the first half of his race conservatively and then he really started moving in the second half picking off the college athletes one by one.

“My first half-mile was running 2:10.0 The second half was 2:06.8. With 400 meters to go I knew I had the record. The announcer got the crowd into it and I really flew home. I thought I could run 4:19 but bested my own aspirations by well over two seconds and smash the previous record by over three seconds,” Barton said.

His official time: 4:16.83.

Barton plans on competing in the 3,000 meters and the mile at the U.S. Masters Championships in Landover Md, on March 22-23. And, if he can stay healthy, he would like to try for the outdoor 1,500 meters American masters record.

“I’m thrilled to have been able to accomplish this long sought-after goal. As the fastest age group Masters miler in the world it would be fun to compete at the World Championships in Torino, Italy, this fall,” said Barton.

After college, Barton put his running career on hold to be a husband, father, author and professional speaker. In 2012, Barton decided to come out of retirement along with his former USATF Hall of Fame college coach Chick Hislop.

“In college I could run a 4-minute mile. I was just curious to see if I could even break a 5-minute mile,” Barton said.

Barton has a history of running fast. He was a member of the Weber State University track team, and in 1990 and 1991, he ran the mile in the NCAA indoor track & field championships. In 1991 he earned NCAA All-America honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Barton also competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1992.

Barton is sponsored by Get Air, Trampoline Parks LLC – a Utah based company.

Results from the Armory site:

Mile run
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Dawson, Owen unattached 4:02.48 4:00.49
2 Everett, Daniel Columbia 4:04.00 4:00.67
3 Korolev, Maksim Harvard 4:03.00 4:03.70
4 Dixon, Harvey Providence 4:07.00 4:05.68
5 Wade, Nick Cornell 4:00.00 4:05.95
6 Oakley, Julian Providence 4:07.00 4:06.01
7 Hatch, Charlie Cornell 4:10.00 4:06.51
8 Guarino, Josh Syracuse Chargers 4:08.92 4:07.11
9 Hillas, Tim Yale 4:05.43 4:07.26
10 Crits, Nick La Salle 4:04.32 4:07.29
11 Schilit, Jordan Haverford 4:03.00 4:07.58
12 Fitzgerald, Kevin unattached 4:05.17 4:07.65
13 Perry, Joshua Alpha Owls 4:05.50 4:08.32
14 Lederhouse, Michae unattached 4:07.00 4:08.69
15 Zillmann, Ryan Citius New York 4:10.00 4:09.14
16 Binford-Walsh, Tre unattached 4:10.57 4:09.85
17 Kubiak, Brett Gwynedd-Mercy 4:14.02 4:10.60
18 Pitts, Andrew New Balance 4:10.24 4:11.47
19 Gregorek, John Columbia 4:03.00 4:12.28
20 Gil, Ryan Georgetown 4:13.75 4:12.50
21 Schoedler, Miles Georgetown 4:18.25 4:12.60
22 Weinstein, Jeffrey NYAC 4:11.00 4:13.18
23 Skipper, Jason Richmond 4:15.69 4:13.48
24 Cousins, Tim Columbia 4:17.80 4:13.75
25 Arnold, Eric Unattached 4:11.00 4:14.85
26 Jones, Byron Columbia 4:06.00 4:15.01
27 Cawkwell, Philip NYAC 4:12.00 4:15.55
28 Saunders, Tyler Johns Hopkins 4:19.43 4:15.67
29 Jamieson, Carlos CPTC New Balance 4:07.00 4:16.30
30 Barton, Brad Get Air Sports 4:17.09 4:16.84
31 Frick, James Johns Hopkins 4:25.40 4:17.11
32 Zingsheim, Zach unattached 4:15.00 4:18.18
33 McGowan, John Yale 4:04.70 4:18.73
34 Grieco, Joseph unattached 4:12.00 4:20.04
35 Murnane, Daniel unattached 4:16.00 4:22.04
36 Pollina, John CPTC New Balance 4:25.12 4:23.39
37 Faherty, Brian unattached 4:15.00 4:26.45
— Furcht, Ben Georgetown 4:16.31 DNF