|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
“It’s the ability to take more out of yourself than you’ve got.” |
“It is physically impossible for a human being to run a mile in under 4 minutes.” This statement was the accepted wisdom of the time during the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Runners tried, but failed, proving the words of athletes and medical doctors – cementing a belief in runners minds that it couldn’t be done.
Roger didn’t set out to prove them wrong. He simply loved to run and he was fast. He was also learning a lot about the human body in his studies at Oxford. The day arrived when he was firmly convinced it WAS possible for a human being to run the mile in under 4 minutes.
His decision to be that person was formed by a humiliating defeat in the 1952 Olympics. In order to redeem himself he decided to break the world’s record for the mile. No one believed he could do it.
Adding to his challenge was the fact he was now a full-time Medical student and he could devote only 45 minutes a day to training. People scoffed at the idea he could accomplish such a wild goal but Roger believed slow and steady training would allow him to break the record. He painstakingly researched mechanical aspects of running, and developed scientific training methods to help him achieve his goal.
His opportunity came 2 years later – on a blustery day with 25 MPH gusts of wind to hamper his efforts. It didn’t look promising. So what? He had trained. He was ready. He believed it could be done.
So he simply went out and did it. Roger ran the race of his life, breaking the tape and collapsing as the announcer delivered his time to a wildly cheering crowd:
3:59.4
Within two months his record had been broken by John Landy – proving the 4 minute mile was as much a psychological barrier as it was a physical barrier. As the years have passed the mile has been run in shorter and shorter times but it was Roger Bannister who proved the body was capable of far more than people believed.
When he was asked to explain that first four-minute mile – and the art of record breaking – his answer was simple: “It’s the ability to take more out of yourself than you’ve got.” - taken from marquiese.wordpress.com
ARE YOU JUST ONE STEP AWAY FROM GOOD TO GREAT? |
|
|
