The Complexity of Success: The Chase for the Sub-4 Minute Mile

The role of luck and circumstances in success.

“Wes Santee has recently broken the world mile record in the time of 3:58.3, and it should stand for many years to come.” -1950

We know the quote above is false. Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute barrier in 1954. Where did the quote above come from? Wes Santee, the Kansas miler, wrote it in his high school yearbook in 1950. Santee did not go on to run a world record in the mile, though he did in the 1,500m. He also did not go on to run a sub 4 mile, though he ran miles of 4:01.3, 4:00.6, 4:00.7, 4:00.5, and 4:01.3 in 1954 and 1955. In other words, Santee, a man who was in a 3-way chase to become remembered as the ultimate barrier breaker, never actually broke the barrier.

The sound bite version of history proclaims that Bannister won the chase to break the barrier via a combination of belief and precision-like execution of a task. The tweet-worthy version attributes it to Bannister realizing he could breakthrough. But the true story is more interesting and contrasts nicely with why Santee didn’t achieve his goals.

By all accounts, Santee was a brash and confident runner. His high school proclamation that he would soon set the world record demonstrates this nicely. As do his own words “I was the workingest kid you ever saw, and one skinny, strong SOB.”

On paper, Santee was the better candidate. He was much faster, splitting an astonishing 47.4 for 440 yards and running 1:48 for 800m compared to Bannister’s 1:50 best. He also possessed equal endurance as an NCAA cross-country champion and Olympian over 5,000 meters in 1952. In other words, he had had both sides of the equation that make the mile so hard to manage, speed and endurance.

Yet, Santee ran into something beyond his control. He was in the NCAA system, while his rivals in the barrier chase, Bannister and John Landy, were focused on one target. The collegiate season meant running two or three races almost every weekend. At a meet in Berkeley, he ran 48.0 for 440 yards, 1:51.4 for 880 yards and 4:05.5 for a mile, all on the same weekend. At the Texas Relays, he ran relay splits of 1:47.7 and 4:05. Santee was the master of astonishing doubles and triples. Never fully unloading on a singular race because he was carrying his team.

In other words, Santee was in shape to go under four, but he was wasting his fitness on relays, instead of targeting history. By the time his collegiate career was over and Santee would be in control of his career, Bannister had achieved the impossible. Shortly after, Santee’s own dream of running under 4 was dashed as he was banned for violating amateur rules for accepting a little over $1,000 from meet promoters on a racing trip to Europe. (Track and field was considered Amateur sport during that time period, so if you were paid, they’d boot you out. Even though, under the table payments occurred frequently to attract the top talent to meets)

John Landy, on the other hand, spent his time training and competing in Australia, increasing his training load to a level that was completely unfathomable to Bannister. From July 21st, 1953 to October 1st, 1953, he completed over 700 x 600-yard repeats, averaging 10×600 yard intervals with 600-yard jog recoveries every single day. Variety must not have been Landy’s strong point. Landy trained the hardest of the trio, and it paid off. But what he lacked was competition. He was stuck in Australia, where good tracks and good opportunities were fewer and farther between. So in 1954, he set up a European tour to give himself a shot.

He had run 4:02.0 and was on his way to Finland where he could take advantage of the better-manicured tracks, competition, and perhaps even a rabbit or two that would be available in Europe. When he arrived in Finland, he heard he was too late.

History relegates John Landy to the 2nd man under four, pushing Bannister from across the globe. Santee is remembered as a world-class runner who fell just short.

Arne Anderson and Gunder Hagg, the two men who preceded Bannister, Landy, and Santee, had traded the world record 6-times bringing it from 4:06.4 to 4:01.4. They did so during 1942-1944. While the rest of the world was at War, the Swedes were attacking a barrier. Their only problem? When the war ended, they were both banned for violating amateur rules. Meaning, just when more attention, focus, and competition was coming their way, their opportunity for glory ended.

Even Bannister’s record breaking attempt had a bit of fortune and luck. First, he had two world class training partners. One went on to be Olympic champ in the steeplechase, the other later became the 4th man to break 4 in history. Second, Bannister was convinced he should call of the race because of the poor wind conditions. He fretted over it. On the train ride up to the race, he bumped into his advisor Franz Stamplf, who told him essentially, if you don’t take the shot, you will never know and may regret it. Bannister stewed on this, and finally decided Stampfl was correct mere hours before the race.

If Bannister had called off his attempt on the account of wind, if Santee’s coaches had allowed him to focus solely on the mile, if Landy had just had some training partners willing and able to set up a race, or if Anderson and Hagg had been allowed to chase the mythical barrier instead of being banned for amateur rules, history might have been different.

While bite-size history might emphasize the psychological breakthrough, the reality is much more complex. The point isn’t to put down Bannister, who had his own setbacks and difficulties to overcome. Yet, in the race to become the one person remembered in history as a transformer, there were 5 likely candidates. All worthy, all capable. Only two ever made it under four minutes for the mile, and one obviously did it first. Preparation, circumstance, and a bit of luck played a role in deciding the fate of the five men.

And that’s how success often is. We like to attribute success to concrete items, to give the illusion that we can control the outcome. The easy answer is to proclaim that Bannister had the psychological fortitude. The reality, however, is that success is messy and complex. Sometimes, we are like Wes Santee and have to make the best of our competition schedules. Other times, we miss the timing ever so slightly like John Landy. Other times, life gets in the way and takes our opportunity away, like Anderson and Hagg. That doesn’t discount what any of these men did. They all went for it, all put in the work, and dared to see how good they could be. And to me, that is the lesson from the quest for the four-minute-mile. The magic is in the chase, whatever our 4-minute mile may be.

-Steve