In the years that followed, male athletes treated their first sub-four-minute mile as a watershed moment – a rite of passage on the way to becoming a top middle-distance runner. “Back then, getting under that four-minute mile was a big thing, especially for milers,” he added. Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay had become the first people to summit the world’s highest peak the year before, and the first four-minute mile duly became running’s own Everest summit, expanding perceptions of human potential. Wes Santee, seen here competing in a three-mile cross-country race, came close to running a sub-four-minute mile during his career. “It still has some mystique,” Magness says about the status of the four-minute mile today.

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