In his third year of attempting to break the elusive 4-minute mile barrier, Charlie Marquardt finally accomplished the feat when he ran 3:55.97 for ninth-place at Sir Walter Miler on August 3.
Just a few weeks earlier, Marquardt barely missed in his attempt when he gave his all to break the mark, but came up just short at The Adrian Martinez Classic in Concord, Massachusetts. Although on pace to run the time, Marquardt lost his footing in the final meters and somersaulted onto the surface of the track while he broke the tape. Despite his efforts, he finished just above 4 minutes with a time of 4:00.38.
“The clock ticked closer and closer, and I was having a hard time driving my arms and legs,” he told Runner’s World in June. “I started to lean over those last steps and one my legs just didn’t function right.”
The Haverford College graduate looked like a completely different runner at Sir Walter Miler in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he closed alongside a pack of competitors that included Nike Oregon Project star Craig Engels, Olympian Hassan Mead, and NCAA Champion Sean McGorty. Marquardt's time of 3:55.97 not only accomplished his longtime goal, but also put him No. 19 on the list of the fastest miles run in the world this year.
“Still in disbelief at how all my training not just over the season, but over the past 10 years realized itself over those four amazing laps in Raleigh. Incredibly thankful for anyone and everyone that has ever supported me,” Marquardt wrote on Instagram.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
