First Four Minutes

by Roger Bannister

On 6 May 1954 Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes, establishing himself as one of the most famous sportsmen in history. Bannister has written a substantial new introduction of this 50th anniversary edition of The First Four Minutes, reflecting on his experiences in 1954, his life ever since then and the evolution of mile running over the last five decades. The First Four Minutes, first published in 1955, covers not only the great race but also those preceding it (including the 1952 Helsinki Olympics) and the ones that followed, where Bannister triumphantly proved that his record time was more than just a one-off. He retired from competition in 1955 and went on to pursue a distinguised career as a neurologist. He was Chairman of the first executive Sports Council from 1971 to 1974. During his years in office the organisation developed the Sport for All programme and the first effective drugs test for anabolic steroids, a test still used today. He was Master of Pembroke College, Oxford for eight years and still lives in the city. He is chairman of the St Mary's Hospital Medical School Development Trust.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published February 24, 2004

About the author

Sir Roger Bannister, the first such person, of Britain in 1954 ran the mile under four minutes.

People best know Roger Gilbert Bannister, commander of the empire, as an English former athlete and the man in history. Bannister, a distinguished neurologist and master of Pembroke college, Oxford, retired in 2001.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_o...

Reviews

[Grommit · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy was published in 1955, about one year after Bannister's record breaking sub-four minute mile AND his victory over John Landy in the Vancouver Empire Games.
Bannister was a unique individual: premier athlete while working toward his medical degree AND researching human performance.
Now, how in heavens could I rate this book only 3 stars? Especially since it is about the great Roger Bannister who made one of those once in a lifetime accomplishments: the first ever to go under 4 minutes for the mile.
Let's see: less detail, less depth, lots of philosophy.
Bannister skims over his training techniques, referencing intervals, but also the wonders of just running for the sake of running. Ok. But, we are reading the athlete who actually broke 4 first. A few more details would be in order. Something closer to the concise analysis offered by Bascomb.
Bannister also is concise when it comes to actual competitions. Ok. Makes for a faster read.
But he certainly dwells on the philosophical angle of "running". Fine. Certainly worthwhile to read. But we have to remind ourselves that he was a premier athlete AND med school student AND researcher. Gadzooks! Few of us even remotely approached his accomplishments.
Bannister certainly reveals his many concerns about the usual runner issues: did he select the correct training program? the right coaching choice? etc. And he explores the strengths of his major competitors: Landy and Santee. All good reading.
Perhaps the only part of the book where he went wrong is in his prognostications about the future of running (that is, the last 65 years). Yes, he predicted that mile times would continue to fall. But, he forecast that runners would shun money and compete just for the physical and mental joy that comes with a race well earned. Umm...nope...premier runners can now earn a million a year and have corporate sponsors. And he was certainly on the right track in his research on the role of blood in endurance capacity. Just didn't predict the use of artificial stimulants to enhance that blood capacity.
Anyway...3 stars.

[Benjamin Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

This month I read the sad news that Roger Banister had passed away recently, and a lot of people expressed their condolences to his family but most importantly their admiration for what he achieved more than 60 years ago, the first sub-four minute mile. So I decided to read his autobiography to have an idea of how he prepared to do it, what it meant for him and what it was like to be a middle-distance runner back in postwar Britain.
The book and his life are interesting, but I felt that it took him forever to get to the part where he pondered the idea of breaking the 4 minutes in the mile.
It is really amazing what he achieved considering that he didn't had a coach and that he had his medical studies and later his medical responsibilities at the same time, back when the the worry of keeping the amateur status was a serious thing.

[Allan Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last fifty pages we’re excellent! Unfortunately it was a tough slog getting to that point. I enjoyed his account of the four minute mile and the Empire Games where he and John Landy (and Rich Ferguson, not Will Ferguson) went head to head. I enjoyed his postscript fifty years later and the two newspaper articles included from the 1950s. But I could have done without chapters 3-13.