London Marathon Events, organisers of the London 10,000 and Vitality Westminster Mile, have advised runABC South that the 70th anniversary of the historic first sub-four-minute mile will be celebrated at the 2024 Vitality Westminster Mile on Saturday 21 September with two British Milers Club (BMC) races to showcase the UK’s current generation of middle-distance talent.

This month marks 70 years since Sir Roger Bannister became the first man to achieve the holy grail of middle-distance athletics performance by running inside four minutes for the mile at Iffley Road, Oxford on 6 May 1954 – run ABC South report here. Helped by his illustrious pacemakers Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway, Bannister ran four laps of the track in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.

Since then, more than 250 British men have emulated Bannister’s achievement for the mile on the track and 20 British men have done so on a road course. But no one has managed the feat at Britain’s most iconic mile road race, the Vitality Westminster Mile – with Chris O’Hare coming closest in 2019 when he ran 4:01.

With the help of the BMC, the cream of British men's endurance runners will be offered the chance to change that this autumn. Pacemakers will be available to give the field the best possible opportunity to run a sub-four-minute mile around the historic loop of St James’s Park.

The BMC women’s race will also have pacemakers aiming to run inside 4:30. In a similar scenario to the men's record, Hannah England (2013) and Melissa Courney-Bryant (2019) share the best time of 4:31.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director of London Marathon Events and son of Chris Brasher, said: “Sir Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute-mile barrier is one of British sports' most iconic and enduring achievements. It is also something that holds particular significance for me as my father was one of Sir Roger’s pacemakers and helped him achieve something that people said at the time was impossible.

“We are very excited to partner with the British Milers Club to mark the 70th anniversary of this historic achievement with a pair of races at this year’s Vitality Westminster Mile that will showcase the current rich generation of middle-distance talent here in the UK. Nobody has yet managed to break four minutes around the famous St James’s Park course and it would be a fitting tribute to Sir Roger’s achievement if that were to change on Saturday 21 September.”

There will be prize money for first (£1,000), second (£500) and third (£250) in both men’s and women’s elite races, with a bonus of £250 for any man inside four minutes and any woman faster than 4:30.

The Vitality Westminster Mile was launched by London Marathon Events in partnership with Westminster City Council in 2013 as a legacy event from the 2012 Olympic Games. It offers mile races for all ages and abilities, including families, adults, veterans, juniors, elites and wheelchair users.

The event is free for those under 11; £7 for ages 11 to 17, and just £10 for adults (with a £5 reduction for Westminster residents). To enter one of the mass participation events, click here.

Results and reports of Vitality Westminster Mile at the runABC South race listing here.

Image from 2023 Vitality Westminster Mile courtesy London Marathon Events