Tony Whiteman is the masters Bannister: goes sub-4 outdoors!
Tony Whiteman and Roger Bannister
About Ken Stone
Ken has followed track as an athlete, writer and web-master since the late 1960s, and saw most sessions of track and field at the 1984 Los Angeles and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also attended the 1988, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Trials, the last three as a blogger and Patch correspondent. [More...]
Ken Stone
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15 Responses
Impressive achievement. Many congratulations to him.
results:
http://cfpitiming.com/2012_Outdoor_Season/Music_City_Distance_Carnivial_2012/Music_City_distance_carnival_results_2012.htm
How cool is that?!! Maybe this will open the door for others in the future.
Well done Tony
Slingshot turns? I believe all standard running records in T&F are superior outdoors (maybe not the 60m)- If you run into a tight banked turn and slingshot out you wouldn’t be running very efficiently. Only in a 200 or 400 can you possibly slingshot off a turn for an advantage. Eamonn was 41 years old and his time, even with today’s age graded calculator is equal to a 3:43.4 mile. The boards did seem to suit him, but the bounce is negligible for most runners.
Congratulations to Tony, but I believe he would have to run about 3:57 flat to come closer to Coghlan’s performance. Now let’s see if Lagat will run 3:55 in 2015.
@ Matt B: Matt, if you have the time, would you Google “Harvard University indoor track” for me. First, it looks like a red synthetic track, certainly not what we would call the standard “indoor boards.”
Second, the track does not look to be banked very much (or is that an illusion?).
One entry I found describes it as having a “springy ‘tuned’ surface,” and the record shows that it is indeed fast. Again, if you have the time would you take a look at the various entries under “Harvard University indoor track” and tell me whether you want to make some additional comments.
In general, I would side with you, as running 8 times around would certainly seem to be a disadvantage (versus running 4 laps outdoors). Or running 4 times around for the 800 versus 2 outdoors.
PT
Regarding indoor vs outdoor, an advantage indoor affords is temperature control. The climate is usually “room temperature”, and there is an absence of wind. When comparing outdoor to indoor, I presume people are assuming the outdoor conditions are ideal, but this is not always the case. I am guessing Whiteman’s record run was under ideal conditions. But if there was a wind or if it was unseasonably cold or hot, then his outdoor advantage with having less turns is negated.
On another note, I saw his 1500m split of 3:42.66. I wonder if this is official (In fact, I wonder if the mile will be official…you know, paper work, photo finish pic, etc). V. Shabunin had two 3:42 performances at 40+, 3:42.65 and 3:42.67. So that 3:42.66 lands him 0.01 behind the #1 time every by a 40+ male. So look for that 1500 40+ time to drop when he runs an outdoor 1500m-he’ll get to kick earlier!
Lastly, I wonder if Whiteman experienced any jet lag or travel fatigue by flying across the globe. I know he’s an experienced traveler/racer from his Grand Prix days, but recovery time from travel affects a 40+ year old more so than a young buck.
This is an absolutely fantastic achievement! Anthony has done something that’s never been done before and rewrote the book.
I had the pleasure of meeting him this past Thursday at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis, MO. You could tell he was stoked and ready to get it done. I look forward to seeing how far he take this.
Great effort Anthony! Keep it rollin!
LOVE IT!! Congrats!! When I was a kid I read the book about the first four minute mile and was fascinated. An amazing feat at any age, but WOW!!
Harvard track is described as “hollow” in 1994:
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=6390
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vejOHIEqsl4
This is a race from 1995 men’s mile. One year later, but should be the same track. I don’t see much of a bank, especially running on the inside lane.8 laps and Eammon was running even splits coming through in 2:59 and then a bit of a kick. I sitll contend his indoor mile at age 41 is at least a 3:57 outdoor.
Commenting on Jim’s point; it usually is the case. Records are rarely set in conditions that are not ideal outdoors. (Name a mile WR set in horrible conditions in the last 30 years)
Usually rabbits are involved and even if the wind is 2 or 3mps it would be negated. A mile race is so much shorter than a 10K on the track that variances in temperature are less important. 44 degrees or 97 degrees- it is only 4 minutes or less and it doesn’t make much of a difference.
I do hope Tony runs some 1500’s- maybe even a 3:40 is possible.
Note that Whiteman also missed the 1500m record by .01 of a second en route.
Mass Velocity Track Club members run on Harvard’s Gordon (Indoor) Track frequently, and in comparison to Reggie Lewis or the Track in Bloomington, is steeply banked, much like the track at Boston University. It is not as fast as BU’s, because it is an old surface, and has become dry and has lost it’s bounce. It is a strange surface that I have not seen anywhere else – not Mondo, not the ‘poured’ liquid surface either. It’s still much better than running on a flat indoor track. I would say that it would not give any advantage to a miler.
Anthony Whiteman lowers his 1:48.28 WR 40+ to a 1:48.21 at the American Milers Club Series Meet on June 6, 2012 at IUPUI in Indianapolis. He was 5th.
“A mile race is so much shorter than a 10K on the track that variances in temperature are less important. 44 degrees or 97 degrees- it is only 4 minutes or less and it doesn’t make much of a difference.”
Hey Matt, I agree that a mile is less affected by such factors as a 10k would be. But one thing to consider is that temperature doesnt just affect the race, it affects the warmup and bodys responsiveness. I would run a slower 1500m in 44 degree weather than I would in 97 degree weather. The same can be said if an 800 was being run. If its too cold, the body wont warmup well and wont be responsive enough. Heat can help the 800/1500, but if its too hot, dehydration and overheating can occur because we have to consider the 50 minutes of warmup prior to the event as well. When I ran my 4:04.98 AR, it was hot and windy, plus the race was delayed by about 45 minutes. So 50 mins of warmup, 45 mins of trying to stay warmed up, and then a 4 min race. Did all of that help or hurt my time? If the race was a 10km, it would hurt ones performance for sure. Just some thoughts.
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