Like Bobby Morrow (1956 Olympics), running on cinder, not so good blocks, old leather spikes. Would like to see what he could have done on artificial surfaces with all the right equipment and training.
My father filmed this. He worked for a news in Salina, KS and said that it was picked up by other media outlets (KAKE TV did the rerun with the commentary and may have called him down to do this coverage). It was a thrilling memory he had. Lester Allen "Andy" Anderson, Jr. passed this week on 10 September 2018 aged 93. I remember my brothers having autographed photos of Jim Ryun. They grew up participating in track and field as did I - all long distance runners.
Jennifer Leaf - Thank you for sharing that information. Your father filmed a historic event for track and field enthusiasts to enjoy. I for one am very thankful. I’m sorry to hear about your loss.
Amazing that he caught this special moment, sorry to hear of his passing. Do you still have the original video? If you do could you send it to me? Doing a history project on Jim Ryun
I've known about this record ever since I read Master of the mile over 50 years ago. However this is the first time I've ever watched video of the record. Thanks to your father.
I set my old 8mm film of my team's 2-mile relay to "They call me the Breeze" (live version). You should do the same. Watch it here (though as good as we were, it in no way compares to Ryun's mile): th-cam.com/video/NPZziptrTM4/w-d-xo.html
I was a freshman at Wichita State on a golf scholarship and attended this meet with my roommate for the express purpose of seeing Jim Ryun run. I had graduated from Kapaun Memorial HS in Wichita the prior year and was familiar with Jim's exploits. The atmosphere was electric among the 7,500 or so attendees and Jim did not disappoint. If memory serves me (I'm 78 now :) ), Jim attended Wichita East HS, the same high school that the greatest running back of all time, Barry Sanders, attended. I noticed in a comment below that he was running as a younger kid in Topeka. So I am not 100% certain about the high school. I had started my first basketball game against Wichita East my junior year when they were #1 in the state featuring Jamie Thompson who went on to star at Wichita State in basketball. Jamie and Grier Jones, my hs teammate and eventual NCAA golf champion, were the top two golfers in the state. Wichita East won the four man golf title in 1964 while Grier and I won the two man title. Sorry to ramble but I haven't been back home since the late 80's and I'm reminiscing. For the best high school miler ever and the best running back ever to come out of the same school is pretty amazing.
@@randyevermore9323 -- I was already thinking of one of the best runners to come out of my area in upstate New York, and you've prompted me to comment. : ] This film is fabulous, and it's the first time I've seen it. Imagine the crowd reaction throughout the race! Well, the harrier I allude to is Miles Irish. He was a Burnt Hills runner who dominated the Mile for literally miles around, and was so ironically and appropriately named. Ha! Since High School -- I graduated in 1982 -- I've thought that Miles had bested the four-minute mark while in the grades, but in researching the number of runners who had broken the record I found that he didn't dip below 4:00:00 until after High School. While my memory clearly can't be trusted as being flawless, I recall my school -- Chatham -- hosting a huge meet, largely due to the quality of our track, in which Miles 'competed'. Miles was a great runner in any regard, but the reason I mention him and am going to make a separate entry about him is your comment. I was wondering about lap times, as apparently many here were, and Jim was leaving his two closest followers farther behind by the middle of lap three. He must have sensed that he was really on fire, because you can see him turn on the booster rockets late in the race. Ha! His insane first-and-last combined lap time of 1:53:80 is amazing largely due to the fourth lap being his fastest by quite a margin, relatively speaking. You're right in noting that those combined laps would likely win many stand-alone 800 times at State High School meets today.
It was a event for those alive in the early 60’s.. Jim Ryan was a hero..As a teenager he made me dream to be like him and run run run.. amazing what he did to folks back then.. yay!
I used to see Jim Ryun running on the street by Randolph elementary school in Topeka KS when I was a kid. All the neighborhood kids knew who he was. We would call out to him, hoping he would wave or answer, but he was in full concentration and he would just sail by as we watched in awe. What a great runner. He was my inspiration when I set a new record for the 600 yard run at the grade school. I doubt my little record lasted long, but it was a fun achievement for me. The other guys who inspired me were a group of softball players who would play at Randolph on Saturday mornings, and Ted Evans, who practiced basketball across the alley at a neghbor's house. He was friendly and loved kids. He watched my brother and me a few times when my parents were gone. He would challenge us to throw a little ball at him and he would dodge it with the coolest jumping moves. We never did hit him. Good memories.
Best high school miler ever. In addition to this HS only race and the legendary 3:55.3 (with a 53.9 last lap) American record against Snell and Grelle, he also posted a 21.6 220 yard relay and a 1:47.7 880 yard relay his senior year of high school.
Ryun was probably THE high-school athletic hero of the 1960s, in the United States, an amazing achievement for a distance runner and not a football or basketball star.
Jim Ryun dominated his sport / track & field during the 60's! Bob Mathias won an Olympic Gold Medal in the Decathlon at the age of 17 in the 1948 Olympic Games. The 2 greatest of All-time & All-around Athletes were Danny Ainge who was voted All-American in Football, Basketball, and Baseball and the incredible JimThorpe who dominated in 5 sports in HS in Football, Basketball, Baseball, Track & Field and Lacrosse!
@GetUpAndTryAgain, yes, Jim Ryun was notorious for going out very hard on his last lap. Even when he ran his WR back in June 1967 with a time of 3:51.1, he averaged around 59.0-59.5 seconds for his first 3 laps. His last lap he ran roughly in the low 53 second range. Most world class athletes today run a very even pace throughout the race. When Hicham El Guerrouj ran his WR for the mile (3:43.12) in July 1999, his slowest lap was roughly 56 seconds and his fastest was in the low 55 second range.
Jim Ryun was truly the runner who got Americans interested in middle distance running. My running hero for most of my life has been Don Paige who was dominant for a few years in the 880 yards, the 800 meters, the 1000 yards and the 1000 meters. 1980 was his year even though he was not allowed to run in the Moscow Olympics, he still was Track and Field New's # 1 ranked 800 meter runner for that year. In many ways there style of running was similar. I always wanted to kick like Don Paige some day. Now, my goal has transitioned to kicking like Heather Dorniden did after her fall in the incredibly inspiring 600 meter race.
I'm impressed two guys hung on to him for 2 and a half laps. Probably ruined their day trying. Unfortunately, Ryun couldn't handle the pollen in Eugene. He tried for a while. Thanks for posting this.
I read a book on this guy in the 1970s when I was a teen and it inspired me to join track then cross country. To this day I remember that book, it just blew me away. I wish I remembered the name of it. But it told how he really busted his butt and worked with his coach to get faster and faster until at the end he ran and broke the record. It just blew my mind how anyone could run that fast, I think my fastest mile was 4:49 and I did a 3 mile in 16 flat. I always use to dry heave after every race
that is insane to watch - on a dirt track no less. If he had run on a all weather track like they have now, who knows how good he might have gotten...amazing run.
Jim Ryun is a true American hero and his work in Washington, as a Congressman and as the director for the Madison Project PAC is his true legacy, but what a runner!!!!
I agree with the fact that an athlete should save himself/herself because most people who train extremely hard during their early years may not have that long of a career. Jim Ryun was pretty much well done by the time he was 24-25 years old.
In 1965 the world record for the mile was 3:53.6 by Michel Jazy, Fr. Jim Ryan a senior in a Kansas high school ran a 3:58.3 on a cinder track with crummy heavy track shoes.
In 1964, America's Jim Ryun became the first high school runner to break four minutes for the mile, running 3:59.0 as a junior and a then-American record 3:55.3 as a senior in 1965.[3] Tim Danielson (1966) and Marty Liquori (1967) also came in under four minutes, but Ryun's high school record stood until Alan Webb ran 3:53.43 in 2001.[4] Ten years later, in 2011, Lukas Verzbicas became the fifth high schooler under four minutes.
wow, i didn't know this existed. he was pushed by the other two for over two laps, then found his groove, his best lap time was the last, he was cranking it up while most start to fatigue.
I just happened to think this might be on TH-cam. My Dad used to run with Jim every day. I'll have to show him (Chuck) the video. I'm sure there are some good stories about the day.
@@sailgoal Your Dad ran well behind Jim Ryun in practice! If your Dad could even finish an insane interval workout with coach Timmons he deserves a pat in the back!! I ran 80 miles/week in H.S and my interval work was 20x 440yd and Coach Timmons had his runners running 40 x 440yd and 24 x 880yd on the other days as well as a 20 -30 mile long run on Sunday mornings!! Jim ran between 100 - 125 miles/ week in H.S.
@@richardmilliken5651 Sadly I lost my Dad in 2018. I wish I could ask him about the distances. I remember him discussing the long distances they ran from East High but I don't have much more detail that I could remember now.
Jim was always in the news: Life Magazine. Put track and field on my radar in the sixties. Joined and practised the hardest. Ran CC and as a farm boy now living in LA did the Shot Putt as well! Kind of a contradiction. !!
We have seen three other highschool students break 4:00 in the mile, but not in a "highschool only" competition. Also, the others didn't break 4:00 before their senior year like Jim Ryun did.......correct me if I'm wrong. However, Alan Webb does get credit for running the HS National record for the mile (3:53.43). Jim Ryun's record was 3:55.3.
I suspect that had Ryun run on today's synthetic surfaces and against runners that were running 3:50-mile, that he'd have lowered the HS mile to the 3:50-3:51-mile range and STILL have the record.
Buddy, I'm aware it was a cinder track. Since you are obviously too young to remember or know, that's a euphemism we use to refer to non- synthetic tracks.
Jim was overtrained to say the least! Timmons ended up ruining/burning out Jim with his insane track workouts! I would've brought Jim along slowly so that he would've run much faster mile times post college. I didn't even come close to training that hard in college as Jim did in High School. Sebastion Coe's dad trained his son perfectly and as a result Seb won gold medals in the 1980 & 1984 Olympics in the 1500 m and a bronze medal & silver medal in the 800 m in the 80 & 84 Olympic Games.
Hard to believe 50 years later and they still can't catch him. Only Junior ever to break 4 minutes, only one to do it in a high school only meet, only one to do it multiple times ( four ) in high school.
I suspect it was on a natural surface, but not cinder. Possibly crushed brick. Surface was better than cinder, I think, but not synthetic. WHOOPS , I think I stand corrected...from a post below, someone has indicated that the '65 State meet was run on very crushed cinders, which probably equates to an old crushed brick type of surface.
You bet. That's all there were back then. The '64 Tokyo Olympics was run on a dirt track. The synthetics didn't appear in large part until the late 60's/early 70's.
but verzbicas was only the 2nd to do it in a *high school only race* webb, liquori, and danielson were racing against other pros and college stars when they did it.
Splits: :58.1, 62.9 (2:01.0), 61.3 (3:02.3), 55.8 (3:58.3). STUDLY!! It's hilarious to watch those two kids try to stay with him the first half. Talk about going out at a suicide pace - then running the last lap in :82. 😂
They stayed with Jim for the 1st 3 laps which is amazing, and they still managed to get PR in the mile! It reminds me of a High School Cross Country Invitational Meet in 1974, when i managed to stay with Salazar for the 1st mile / 4:32 . What a mistake that was!
I don't know why this is so confusing to you. Liquori, Danielson, and Alan Webb were in high school, but they did NOT run in a HIGH-SCHOOLER ONLY race.
We've got an two synthetic tracks in our town. The old one (laid in the early 80s) is a piece of shit. It`s too soft and you get a lot of feedback doing speedwork. You're liable to pick up a knee injury if your wear trainers. The new one is fantastic, but it too will age and one day become a piece of shit. Our town council is broke. There used to be a cinder track before it. In the winter it was the only one you could safety train on when icy. I actually wish we could have our cinder track back!
If Ryun got to run on a modern track in cool, dry oregon like the kid who broke his national record, Ryun's 3:55 would have been a 3:50. Also if Ryun had modern shoes.
@@richardmilliken5651 True, I was being conservative saying 3:50. He ran his 3:55 on dirt track and not so good shoes in heavy humid Kansas air. If he ran in Oregon, thin, dry air and on Oregon's elite rubberized surface with today's shoes 3:45 - 3:47 would be realistic. The kid who broke Ryun's record got a scholarship to Michigan and was never heard from again.
didn't steve scott also break 4 minutes, another guy did and alan webb ran a 3:53. And Jim Ryun's best in high school was 3:55, so your info is way off.
Cinder track, crappy shoes, no rabbit. Definately not modern training we have today. This is simply amazing.
So right, no credit to science junk, just luck of genetic draw!
Like Bobby Morrow (1956 Olympics), running on cinder, not so good blocks, old leather spikes. Would like to see what he could have done on artificial surfaces with all the right equipment and training.
My father filmed this. He worked for a news in Salina, KS and said that it was picked up by other media outlets (KAKE TV did the rerun with the commentary and may have called him down to do this coverage). It was a thrilling memory he had. Lester Allen "Andy" Anderson, Jr. passed this week on 10 September 2018 aged 93. I remember my brothers having autographed photos of Jim Ryun. They grew up participating in track and field as did I - all long distance runners.
Jennifer Leaf - Thank you for sharing that information. Your father filmed a historic event for track and field enthusiasts to enjoy. I for one am very thankful. I’m sorry to hear about your loss.
Amazing that he caught this special moment, sorry to hear of his passing. Do you still have the original video? If you do could you send it to me? Doing a history project on Jim Ryun
I've known about this record ever since I read Master of the mile over 50 years ago. However this is the first time I've ever watched video of the record. Thanks to your father.
Great camera work. Thanks for letting us know. Blessings!
I set my old 8mm film of my team's 2-mile relay to "They call me the Breeze" (live version). You should do the same. Watch it here (though as good as we were, it in no way compares to Ryun's mile): th-cam.com/video/NPZziptrTM4/w-d-xo.html
I was a freshman at Wichita State on a golf scholarship and attended this meet with my roommate for the express purpose of seeing Jim Ryun run. I had graduated from Kapaun Memorial HS in Wichita the prior year and was familiar with Jim's exploits. The atmosphere was electric among the 7,500 or so attendees and Jim did not disappoint. If memory serves me (I'm 78 now :) ), Jim attended Wichita East HS, the same high school that the greatest running back of all time, Barry Sanders, attended. I noticed in a comment below that he was running as a younger kid in Topeka. So I am not 100% certain about the high school. I had started my first basketball game against Wichita East my junior year when they were #1 in the state featuring Jamie Thompson who went on to star at Wichita State in basketball. Jamie and Grier Jones, my hs teammate and eventual NCAA golf champion, were the top two golfers in the state. Wichita East won the four man golf title in 1964 while Grier and I won the two man title. Sorry to ramble but I haven't been back home since the late 80's and I'm reminiscing. For the best high school miler ever and the best running back ever to come out of the same school is pretty amazing.
Takes me back to h.s. Second place kid came in around 4:20 -- still a great run.
So true and anywhere else that would had been a good time for finishing 1st. His bad luck that Jim was there in this race.
Jim Ryun = beast, he was able to break four minutes in high school, on dirt!!!! ON DIRRTT!!!!!
Yeah but Ryun did it on a dirt track and without a rabbit, big big difference. Jim Ryun is still the best high miler ever.
Easy a 3 50 mile on rubber track ....
No doubt about that
I timed his splits, they were:
58.1
62.8 (2:00.9)
61.5 (3:02.4)
55.7 (3:58.3)
Insane
The combined time of his first and last laps (1:53.8) would win the 800 in many HS state meets.
@@randyevermore9323 -- I was already thinking of one of the best runners to come out of my area in upstate New York, and you've prompted me to comment. : ] This film is fabulous, and it's the first time I've seen it. Imagine the crowd reaction throughout the race!
Well, the harrier I allude to is Miles Irish. He was a Burnt Hills runner who dominated the Mile for literally miles around, and was so ironically and appropriately named. Ha! Since High School -- I graduated in 1982 -- I've thought that Miles had bested the four-minute mark while in the grades, but in researching the number of runners who had broken the record I found that he didn't dip below 4:00:00 until after High School. While my memory clearly can't be trusted as being flawless, I recall my school -- Chatham -- hosting a huge meet, largely due to the quality of our track, in which Miles 'competed'.
Miles was a great runner in any regard, but the reason I mention him and am going to make a separate entry about him is your comment. I was wondering about lap times, as apparently many here were, and Jim was leaving his two closest followers farther behind by the middle of lap three. He must have sensed that he was really on fire, because you can see him turn on the booster rockets late in the race. Ha! His insane first-and-last combined lap time of 1:53:80 is amazing largely due to the fourth lap being his fastest by quite a margin, relatively speaking. You're right in noting that those combined laps would likely win many stand-alone 800 times at State High School meets today.
The gas he had in the tank for that last quarter......
Also surprising that in Kansas there did not appear to be any wind....
I love this! He did that before all of the fancy shoes, diets, track materials, training... Awesome!
Those people witnessed something really special that day.
It was a event for those alive in the early 60’s.. Jim Ryan was a hero..As a teenager he made me dream to be like him and run run run.. amazing what he did to folks back then.. yay!
Thanks so very much for posting this historic race. I had no idea a video of it existed. And yes, it's a dirt track.
I used to see Jim Ryun running on the street by Randolph elementary school in Topeka KS when I was a kid. All the neighborhood kids knew who he was. We would call out to him, hoping he would wave or answer, but he was in full concentration and he would just sail by as we watched in awe. What a great runner. He was my inspiration when I set a new record for the 600 yard run at the grade school. I doubt my little record lasted long, but it was a fun achievement for me. The other guys who inspired me were a group of softball players who would play at Randolph on Saturday mornings, and Ted Evans, who practiced basketball across the alley at a neghbor's house. He was friendly and loved kids. He watched my brother and me a few times when my parents were gone. He would challenge us to throw a little ball at him and he would dodge it with the coolest jumping moves. We never did hit him. Good memories.
What a great story👍⭐️❤️
Best high school miler ever. In addition to this HS only race and the legendary 3:55.3 (with a 53.9 last lap) American record against Snell and Grelle, he also posted a 21.6 220 yard relay and a 1:47.7 880 yard relay his senior year of high school.
Outstanding quality to be that old. The old
8mm films are usually pretty poor. This is a true gem.
Running this in high school all those years ago is absolutely insane. Sure this record has been broken but you just can't compare now to then.
Ryun was probably THE high-school athletic hero of the 1960s, in the United States, an amazing achievement for a distance runner and not a football or basketball star.
Jim Ryun dominated his sport / track & field during the 60's! Bob Mathias won an Olympic Gold Medal in the Decathlon at the age of 17 in the 1948 Olympic Games. The 2 greatest of All-time & All-around Athletes were Danny Ainge who was voted All-American in Football, Basketball, and Baseball and the incredible JimThorpe who dominated in 5 sports in HS in Football, Basketball, Baseball, Track & Field and Lacrosse!
It was virtually a time trial as he led from start to finish. What a runner!
Very important part of history
@GetUpAndTryAgain, yes, Jim Ryun was notorious for going out very hard on his last lap. Even when he ran his WR back in June 1967 with a time of 3:51.1, he averaged around 59.0-59.5 seconds for his first 3 laps. His last lap he ran roughly in the low 53 second range. Most world class athletes today run a very even pace throughout the race. When Hicham El Guerrouj ran his WR for the mile (3:43.12) in July 1999, his slowest lap was roughly 56 seconds and his fastest was in the low 55 second range.
Jim Ryun was truly the runner who got Americans interested in middle distance running. My running hero for most of my life has been Don Paige who was dominant for a few years in the 880 yards, the 800 meters, the 1000 yards and the 1000 meters. 1980 was his year even though he was not allowed to run in the Moscow Olympics, he still was Track and Field New's # 1 ranked 800 meter runner for that year. In many ways there style of running was similar. I always wanted to kick like Don Paige some day. Now, my goal has transitioned to kicking like Heather Dorniden did after her fall in the incredibly inspiring 600 meter race.
Jim Ryun had the best kick of All-time! Jim's last 400m split at Dusseldorf in 1967 was 49.8, 300m split, 35.8, and last 100m split was 11.6.
I'm impressed two guys hung on to him for 2 and a half laps. Probably ruined their day trying.
Unfortunately, Ryun couldn't handle the pollen in Eugene. He tried for a while.
Thanks for posting this.
I meet Jim Ryun at a meet a week ago. Got his signature, too. It was an honor.
i spent an entire week with him at his running camp
These are such great splits! This is how you run a MILE! Jim Rocks!
Just met this legend today. Such a genuinely good guy with a big heart.
The two runners that tried to stay with Ryun finished as if they were in a marathon -- at least they gave it a shot.
I read a book on this guy in the 1970s when I was a teen and it inspired me to join track then cross country. To this day I remember that book, it just blew me away. I wish I remembered the name of it. But it told how he really busted his butt and worked with his coach to get faster and faster until at the end he ran and broke the record. It just blew my mind how anyone could run that fast, I think my fastest mile was 4:49 and I did a 3 mile in 16 flat. I always use to dry heave after every race
that is insane to watch - on a dirt track no less. If he had run on a all weather track like they have now, who knows how good he might have gotten...amazing run.
Man, thats insane. I couldn't ever imagine that at the high school level.
Jim Ryun is a true American hero and his work in Washington, as a Congressman and as the director for the Madison Project PAC is his true legacy, but what a runner!!!!
Steve Scott's PR in HS was 4:15. His all-time best was 3:47.69, which stood as the American record for 25 years until Alan Webb achieved 3:46.91.
I met Ryun at the KU Relays in '68. Really nice guy with no attitude. You'd never know he was the world's best miler. Until he ran.
Jim Ryun was / is a true Christian gentleman very humble not a hint of arrogance. Truly a man at peace with God & others...
I’m amazed there was anyone with him at half way
The size of the crowd is amazing. They all came to see this
amazing video. thanks. JR is on a lot of you tube videos and never fails to impress
He's moving LIKE A TREMENDOUS MACHINE!
Wow, thanks for posting this video. Incredible.
I agree with the fact that an athlete should save himself/herself because most people who train extremely hard during their early years may not have that long of a career. Jim Ryun was pretty much well done by the time he was 24-25 years old.
Ryun is the only American to have run a sub-4 minute mile as a high school junior.
In 1965 the world record for the mile was 3:53.6 by Michel Jazy, Fr.
Jim Ryan a senior in a Kansas high school ran a 3:58.3 on a cinder track with crummy heavy track shoes.
is he running on dirt? jim ryun was an extremely incredible runner
Yes
In 1964, America's Jim Ryun became the first high school runner to break four minutes for the mile, running 3:59.0 as a junior and a then-American record 3:55.3 as a senior in 1965.[3] Tim Danielson (1966) and Marty Liquori (1967) also came in under four minutes, but Ryun's high school record stood until Alan Webb ran 3:53.43 in 2001.[4] Ten years later, in 2011, Lukas Verzbicas became the fifth high schooler under four minutes.
I couldn't tell but was that on a cinder track as well!
wow, i didn't know this existed. he was pushed by the other two for over two laps, then found his groove, his best lap time was the last, he was cranking it up while most start to fatigue.
JIM RYUN. - Beast mode - best HS ATHLETE EVER
@XxRinoa1xX It is at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium. The state meet is held there annually still.
He just lit a match after that 3rd lap.!!! Wow!!
I know. Just in another world all together. Great stuff to watch.
I just happened to think this might be on TH-cam. My Dad used to run with Jim every day. I'll have to show him (Chuck) the video. I'm sure there are some good stories about the day.
+williewater bug That's cool! Where did they run together?
Yeah! Where?
East High School in Wichita. They trained for distance running.
@@sailgoal Your Dad ran well behind Jim Ryun in practice! If your Dad could even finish an insane interval workout with coach Timmons he deserves a pat in the back!! I ran 80 miles/week in H.S and my interval work was 20x 440yd and Coach Timmons had his runners running 40 x 440yd and 24 x 880yd on the other days as well as a 20 -30 mile long run on Sunday mornings!! Jim ran between 100 - 125 miles/ week in H.S.
@@richardmilliken5651 Sadly I lost my Dad in 2018. I wish I could ask him about the distances. I remember him discussing the long distances they ran from East High but I don't have much more detail that I could remember now.
@XxRinoa1xX that is at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium
Props to the 2nd and 3rd finishers since they knew going into this race that for them it was a race for 2nd & 3rd and they ran a low 4 minute + mile.
"high school level only race" is the key here. Meaning only running with highschoolers. For example webb broke his with altheles of all diferent ages.
@kopk888 Fernandez was 4:00.29 for 1600m which is equivalent to 4:01.8 mile.
Jim was always in the news: Life Magazine. Put track and field on my radar in the sixties. Joined and practised the hardest. Ran CC and as a farm boy now living in LA did the Shot Putt as well! Kind of a contradiction. !!
incredible! Nobody was anywhere near him.
We have seen three other highschool students break 4:00 in the mile, but not in a "highschool only" competition. Also, the others didn't break 4:00 before their senior year like Jim Ryun did.......correct me if I'm wrong. However, Alan Webb does get credit for running the HS National record for the mile (3:53.43). Jim Ryun's record was 3:55.3.
I suspect that had Ryun run on today's synthetic surfaces and against runners that were running 3:50-mile, that he'd have lowered the HS mile to the 3:50-3:51-mile range and STILL have the record.
Cinder tracks are at least 1 second slower than all weather { urethane} track. That 3 : 58 is now a 3:54. pretty Amazing!
That third quarter mile is always the hardest one both physically and mentally.
@TheRunningSource Alan Webb went under 4 in high school too
South Lakes High Fairfax County Virginia
Buddy,
I'm aware it was a cinder track. Since you are obviously too young to remember or know, that's a euphemism we use to refer to non- synthetic tracks.
Interesting footage...had a gallop stride at the end of his races...no juantorena as far as racing his competition...a lone wolf!
Jim was overtrained to say the least! Timmons ended up ruining/burning out Jim with his insane track workouts! I would've brought Jim along slowly so that he would've run much faster mile times post college. I didn't even come close to training that hard in college as Jim did in High School. Sebastion Coe's dad trained his son perfectly and as a result Seb won gold medals in the 1980 & 1984 Olympics in the 1500 m and a bronze medal & silver medal in the 800 m in the 80 & 84 Olympic Games.
Great miler form
this is at Wichita State University
Hard to believe 50 years later and they still can't catch him. Only Junior ever to break 4 minutes, only one to do it in a high school only meet, only one to do it multiple times ( four ) in high school.
+john Smith so five high school students under 4 minutes, so by the year 2020, it should be 6? or 7? or 8ight?
Was that on a cinder track !
I suspect it was on a natural surface, but not cinder. Possibly crushed brick. Surface was better than cinder, I think, but not synthetic.
WHOOPS , I think I stand corrected...from a post below, someone has indicated that the '65 State meet was run on very crushed cinders, which probably equates to an old crushed brick type of surface.
jakob ingerbregisten
@@pilot0710 WHY CAN T ANY 1 TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED 2 JACOB?
@TheRunningSource - Yup I updated the video infomation to reflect that fact.
I'm pretty sure that is at Wichita South high school (not positive) but they got new tracks this past summer
Isn't this 1965? I thought silent film era ended before the 1930s.
Verzbicas was actually the 5th High Schooler to do it
Edit* no longer the fastest time in high school only competition... Gary Martin, 3:57.99
I was a runner in high school. He was a God to us.
Thank you...
You bet. That's all there were back then. The '64 Tokyo Olympics was run on a dirt track. The synthetics didn't appear in large part until the late 60's/early 70's.
does anyone know what the guy in second hit ?
You can time it. I counted him about 24 seconds back, rough estimate. Still a decent HS mile. Jim Ryan cast a big shadow !
Dodnt know there was footage of this race. Im 51 now. Never seen this. I ran a 4:02
87 my senior year. Ryan is a legend
That guys is a fucking beast!!!
but verzbicas was only the 2nd to do it in a *high school only race* webb, liquori, and danielson were racing against other pros and college stars when they did it.
Splits: :58.1, 62.9 (2:01.0), 61.3 (3:02.3), 55.8 (3:58.3). STUDLY!!
It's hilarious to watch those two kids try to stay with him the first half. Talk about going out at a suicide pace - then running the last lap in :82. 😂
They stayed with Jim for the 1st 3 laps which is amazing, and they still managed to get PR in the mile!
It reminds me of a High School Cross Country Invitational Meet in 1974, when i managed to stay with Salazar for the 1st mile / 4:32 . What a mistake that was!
This is before running became popular.
they're the only two to do it in an all high school race, and only five high schoolers have ever done it (including verzbicas and ryun)
It's a cinder track, nobody runs on "dirt"
Actually #2 (#5 to break 4:00)
Key words "in a high school level only race"
That's a big deal. Then and now.
what about Allan web???
Didn't Alan Web also do it?
I don't know why this is so confusing to you. Liquori, Danielson, and Alan Webb were in high school, but they did NOT run in a HIGH-SCHOOLER ONLY race.
is this track witchita state? :) i got to run here every year for state track! :D
what a beast
why pool workouts?
Think about if he had some competition!
We've got an two synthetic tracks in our town. The old one (laid in the early 80s) is a piece of shit. It`s too soft and you get a lot of feedback doing speedwork. You're liable to pick up a knee injury if your wear trainers. The new one is fantastic, but it too will age and one day become a piece of shit. Our town council is broke. There used to be a cinder track before it. In the winter it was the only one you could safety train on when icy. I actually wish we could have our cinder track back!
pretty sure Alan Web did it before Lukas Verzbicas did...
Actually i think hes like 4th or 5th person to do it
If Ryun got to run on a modern track in cool, dry oregon like the kid who broke his
national record, Ryun's 3:55 would have been a 3:50. Also if Ryun had modern shoes.
I predict that Ryun would've run a 3:47 / mile if he was running in HS now!
@@richardmilliken5651 True, I was being conservative saying 3:50. He ran his 3:55 on dirt track and not so good shoes in heavy humid Kansas air. If he ran in Oregon, thin, dry air and on Oregon's elite rubberized surface with today's shoes 3:45 - 3:47 would be realistic. The kid who broke Ryun's record got a scholarship to Michigan and was never heard from again.
@@eaglesyz yeah except for six years after setting the HS record Webb set the US record which stands to this day
Or maybe you were being sarcastic
Was this recorded on an Idaho or Yukon Gold potato?
um no... Verzbicas was the fifth highschooler to go under 4
17, I believe. No older than 18.
That 55.7 tho...
didn't steve scott also break 4 minutes, another guy did and alan webb ran a 3:53. And Jim Ryun's best in high school was 3:55, so your info is way off.
this was in '72??
1965
is that a dirt track?
matthewxcountry I think so
@conanobrianvomit he's the awesome pixel
Fernadez was close to it
1965.
I go out at a 58 for my 800...