Jim Ryun's High School Competition Only 3:58.3 Mile

[loudmusicman4]

I timed his splits, they were:

58.1

62.8 (2:00.9)

61.5 (3:02.4)

55.7 (3:58.3)

[yelnoctrebor]

I love this! He did that before all of the fancy shoes, diets, track materials, training... Awesome!

[tank3ful]

This is like watching Secretariat at the Belmont Stakes.

[katiush65]

4:20 get your binoculars out ;-)

[iMaDeMoN2012]

Isn't this 1965? I thought silent film era ended before the 1930s.

[conanobrianvomit]

@silentboyfilms Thanks

[conanobrianvomit]

Which pixel is Jim Ryun?

[MrButtloaf]

is he running on dirt? jim ryun was an extremely incredible runner

[dean2663]

Lukas verbicas

[dean2663]

He ran a 3:55 in HS but not against HS comp.

[TheRunningSource]

Well it looks like Jim Ryun is no longer the only high school to run a sub-4 mile in a high school level only race! Lukas Verzbicas is #2!!!

[crimsonaltruist]

@TheRunningSource LV is legit! Ryun's run is definitely more ridiculous though. The track he ran on is certainly not as good as Lukas's and the lack of competition anywhere near him after 2 laps was crazy. Still though, I see very very good things in LV's future and probably a better lifetime mile PR than Ryun. Lukas's 2 mile from a couple weeks back was simply unparalleled and I think he's still a long way off his potential.

[TheRunningSource]

@crimsonaltruist Yes I agree Ryun's run was definetly better considering the running surface and competition!

[tfmie]

@TheRunningSource - Yup I updated the video infomation to reflect that fact.

[D3stined4Glory]

@TheRunningSource Alan Webb went under 4 in high school too

[ringringbananarchy]

@D3stined4Glory He was talking about in a HIGH SCHOOL ONLY race. Only Ryun and Verzbicas have done that. If you just talk about all time sub 4 miles, you add in Webb, Marty Liqouri and Tim Danielson. However none of those three accomplished the feat in a high school only race. Verzbicas did it in an all-star high school race, Ryun did it in a race on cinders where second place was 4:21! Webb, Liqouri and Danielson all did it in pro races where they were dragged along to fast times.

[Artorius210]

and he did it on a shitty track

[mervrun]

Just think on a real track and the comp...what he woulda done at todays standards....JIM is The Bst

[Beastlierthanyou]

back when  they staggered the mile like that...

[gopher3737]

that is insane to watch - on a dirt track no less. If he had run on a all weather track like they have now, who knows how good he might have gotten...amazing run.

[naspeeedy24]

This dude is amazing!

[2003bogota]

Ryun is the only American to have run a sub-4 minute mile as a high school junior.

[imthemasterofpuppets]

lol i run one lap in 3:58 minutes hahaha

[johnchill3]

what a beast

[forzathree]

Wheres the HD button?

[AlkaanUncertain]

Best official ever- at the end, the dude who jumps up when he crosses the finish

[917vs512]

The swagger he has at the end is so cool

[JamesTKirkCobain]

I read a book on this guy in the 1970s when I was a teen and it inspired me to join track then cross country. To this day I remember that book, it just blew me away. I wish I remembered the name of it. But it told how he really busted his butt and worked with his coach to get faster and faster until at the end he ran and broke the record. It just blew my mind how anyone could run that fast, I think my fastest mile was 4:49 and I did a 3 mile in 16 flat. I always use to dry heave after every race

[kopk888]

Fernadez was close to it

[SunnyKid975]

@kopk888 Fernandez was 4:00.29 for 1600m which is equivalent to 4:01.8 mile.

[captaincool5]

@SunnyKid975 You are telling me he can run 9m in 1.51 seconds? Because a mile is 1609m

[nerdswith8guns]

@captaincool5 9m in 1.51 seconds isn't that fast

[ringringbananarchy]

@captaincool5 4:00 pace for the mile is 14.9 seconds per 100m, or 1.49 seconds per 10m for the entire race, so yeah, he probably should be able to run 9m in 1.51 seconds without changing his pace. 1.51 seconds per 9m is 4:19 mile pace....

[meetkinggarrett]

i dont get how he was that fast that long ago

[geto235]

@meetkinggarrett That just shows how amazing he was.

[runningshoe1]

We've got an two synthetic tracks in our town. The old one (laid in the early 80s) is a piece of shit. It`s too soft and you get a lot of feedback doing speedwork. You're liable to pick up a knee injury if your wear trainers. The new one is fantastic, but it too will age and one day become a piece of shit. Our town council is broke. There used to be a cinder track before it. In the winter it was the only one you could safety train on when icy. I actually wish we could have our cinder track back!

[simgar988]

this is at Wichita State University

[VLombardi01]

incredible! Nobody was anywhere near him.

[chuckmanofgod]

We have seen three other highschool students break 4:00 in the mile, but not in a "highschool only" competition. Also, the others didn't break 4:00 before their senior year like Jim Ryun did.......correct me if I'm wrong. However, Alan Webb does get credit for running the HS National record for the mile (3:53.43). Jim Ryun's record was 3:55.3.

[XxRinoa1xX]

I'm pretty sure that is at Wichita South high school (not positive) but they got new tracks this past summer

[jlc20me]

@XxRinoa1xX It is at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium. The state meet is held there annually still.

[ksxcrunner]

@XxRinoa1xX that is at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium

[realcampusman]

they took it out way too fast for the first 100 meters

[GetUpAndTryAgain]

Good lord, 55.7 last lap....

[chuckmanofgod]

@GetUpAndTryAgain, yes, Jim Ryun was notorious for going out very hard on his last lap. Even when he ran his WR back in June 1967 with a time of 3:51.1, he averaged around 59.0-59.5 seconds for his first 3 laps. His last lap he ran roughly in the low 53 second range. Most world class athletes today run a very even pace throughout the race. When Hicham El Guerrouj ran his WR for the mile (3:43.12) in July 1999, his slowest lap was roughly 56 seconds and his fastest was in the low 55 second range.

[ACrazyLawyer]

he peaked way to early...

[futuremodal]

Maybe. He certainly did not maintain his peak form year in and year out after the '68 Olympics, but he was still primed to win the '72 games if he hadn't gotten tripped in the semis. He went pro shortly afterward and lost his amauter status, otherwise we might have seen Ryan vs Viren (and ostensibly Pre) in the Montreal 5k in '76.

[ie4evafulevas]

if my fastest mile run is 6:00 min now and if i start running 3 miles each week how long would it take me to be at 5:30

[delewareboy]

a long time. You want to be running at least 5 miles a week to improve.

[racketer]

itleast 5miles a week? More like itleast 20miles a week

[delewareboy]

I got the impression he wasn't up to that yet.

[racketer]

i'll train him for 100pound an hour. I have trained usain bolt and bekele both at the times when they broke worlds records in their events. I also trained haile for the year when he broke his marathon wr. But had to leave him over disagreements over money problems. (His maid stole money from me)

[futuremodal]

Cinder tracks may well have taken a second per lap slower than today's rubberized tracks, but on the other hand cinder tracks were more forgiving to the feet and joints. Despite high mileage training regimes, injuries occurred less often in those days. Nowadays kids need to incorporate pool workouts and other forms of cross training to maintain fitness without developing injuries.

Give me a cinder track anyday, and I'll run forever........

[wwwgotristancom]

why pool workouts?

[futuremodal]

Why pool workouts? To allow cardio workouts without any joint stress. You can add a few more hard workouts per week without increasing risk of injury.

[racketer]

such a retarded comment. Right most elite athletes only do their speed sessions on track and race on track. And new tracks arent bad on the joints at all they are very bouncy and soft compared to cinder tracks which are hard as rock.

[futuremodal]

Cinder tracks were hard as rock, huh? New tracks are soft and bouncy, huh?

I seriously doubt you've set foot on either.

The subsurface of cinder tracks was usually just natural soil, e.g. very "soft and bouncy". The subsurface of newer rubberized tracks is either asphalt or concrete. So your modern tracks have maybe up to 1/2 inch of rubberized material lying atop unforgivingly hard pavement.

I've run on both - cinders win for softness, rubberized win for speed.

[franknjess]

@futuremodal - Looks like you've never set foot on either with such an ignorant comment. You've probably never even run a race in your life.

[futuremodal]

I see the trolls are out.

Do some research next time before you prove to the world what a fool you are.

[TheShnag]

@franknjess

futuremodal is right, except the soft and bouncy part. Cinder tracks aren't hard on your joints, but they definitely weren't "soft" nor "bouncy."

What he is right about is the new tracks (or at least the lower end tracks nowadays). My school recently got its track ripped up and replaced. There is solid asphalt, covered by a thin layer of rubberized material, just as he said.

[EltBerserker]

greatest high schooler ever

[Steeleydankid]

Cinder tracks are at least 1 second slower than all weather { urethane} track. That 3 : 58 is now a 3:54. pretty Amazing!

[MAClamaire]

Running this in high school all those years ago is absolutely insane. Sure this record has been broken but you just can't compare now to then.

[ilovethekunthis74]

HE IS NASTY!!!

[uncletreetrunk]

Jim Ryun = beast, he was able to break four minutes in high school, on dirt!!!! ON DIRRTT!!!!!

[GenghisKhan22]

thats impossible cars cant even travel that distance in that time u guys are all stupid as hell i hate you all

[mrcatohead]

his coach hammered the crap out of him, he could have been so much better and had a much longer career if he didnt worry so much about breaking high school record

[chuckmanofgod]

I agree with the fact that an athlete should save himself/herself because most people who train extremely hard during their early years may not have that long of a career. Jim Ryun was pretty much well done by the time he was 24-25 years old.

[CreativeStuffVideo]

I'm impressed two guys hung on to him for 2 and a half laps. Probably ruined their day trying.

Unfortunately, Ryun couldn't handle the pollen in Eugene. He tried for a while.

Thanks for posting this.

[23formikeonly]

not really, running sub 2minute 800 is good but not evn close to him.

[calebwwecanipe]

He was 16 at the time!

[eaglesyz]

If Ryun got to run on a modern track in cool, dry oregon like the kid who broke his

national record, Ryun's 3:55 would have been a 3:50. Also if Ryun had modern shoes.

[N71789]

Jim Ryun is the Hicham el Guerrouj of high school milers.

[rmrooster01]

No, because Hicham El Guerrouj is not the standard of high school milers in the USA. El Guerrouj wasnt even born yet when Ryun was in his prime. Jim Ryun, Gerry Lindgren, and Prefontaine are the 3 greatest american track distance runners. Do you see what I mean? Jim Ryuns name speaks for itself.

[N71789]

You misunderstood my compliment to Jim Ryun. I meant to say that Ryun, like Hicham el Guerrouj, is in a class by himself. As a 64 year old ex-runner and track fan, I am well aware of all the runners you mentioned. Peter Snell and Lasse Viren are my favorites though. Cheers!

[nickdabeast95]

this was in '72??

[Raimakusa]

1965.

[metaldeaddrummer]

talk about a kick

[LGTRON]

how old was he?

[RFXCrunner]

17, I believe. No older than 18.

[runningsub5]

check out my vid of german fernandez running a 4:01 1600

[Equinox2100]

I clocked a 55.88 last lap. Jesus

[GetUpAndTryAgain]

2nd place guy got 4:20.0 with a 21.6 gap from Ryun and the 3rd place guy got 4:22.4 with a 24.0 gap from Ryun.

Amazing how huge the gap was even though they stayed with him for the first 2 and half laps...

[spirtnezz]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing!

[GetUpAndTryAgain]

This is really good quality.

[yung4evr]

Outstanding quality to be that old. The old

8mm films are usually pretty poor. This is a true gem.

[ExportDrummer89]

Wow, thanks for posting this video. Incredible.

[SpiritofLaws]

Thanks so very much for posting this historic race. I had no idea a video of it existed. And yes, it's a dirt track.

[arete5000]

wow

[matthewxcountry]

is that a dirt track?

[yung4evr]

You bet. That's all there were back then. The '64 Tokyo Olympics was run on a dirt track. The synthetics didn't appear in large part until the late 60's/early 70's.

[IndianXC]

It's a cinder track, nobody runs on "dirt"

[yung4evr]

Buddy,

I'm aware it was a cinder track. Since you are obviously too young to remember or know, that's a euphemism we use to refer to non- synthetic tracks.

[franknjess]

We did in fact run on "dirt" tracks and cinder and clay in the 70's.

[Neil6000]

IndianXC:

Back in 1972 I remember running at a high school meet that did indeed have a dirt track. It was mostly clay and had dried out to be rock hard on a hot sunny day.

Schools back then didn't pour money into sports the way they do today.

[heylittlehouse]

so tight. everyone jumped as soon as he crossed the finish line.