March 4, 2018
I had no idea I would be writing this in One Seven Six Zero.
Roger Bannister
May 23, 1929 - March 3, 2018
May 6, 1954, the First Sub-4 Minute Mile
(I am writing this on Sunday, March 4, when I learned from Jackie that Roger Bannister, the man who first broke the 4-minute mile in 1954, died yesterday, March 3, 2018, at age 88. Words cannot express the thoughts and feelings I have about this news. It is not that it is sad, really. We all will die. It's just that this athlete affected so deeply my understanding and appreciation for what he had accomplished, which made him a standard bearer for my own aspirations in the game of running. When you spend as much time as I have revering such an accomplishment, thinking about Sir Roger and the others (e.g. Jim Ryun, Marty Liquori, and many more), it somehow becomes a permanent and eternal aspect of your soul.
Now I have someone for whom to dedicate my attempt at breaking six minutes. The timing could not be more perfect, his death 10 days before the scheduled day.)
* * * * *
No comments:
Post a Comment