A short history of the mile
By Paul Baltutis
While we have the ancient Greeks to thank for the long distance race known as the marathon, we owe a debt of gratitude to the Romans for coming up with the unit of measurement called the mile. Roman generals needed some way of measuring distances to plan travel time in military maneuvers. So, the Romans based their long marches on mille passus (mille: one thousand, passus: a two step stride). If each step was approximately 2.5 feet, a passus totaled five feet; hence, a Roman mile was approximately 5,000 feet.
The British adopted the term “mile” from the Romans but modified the distance to 5,280 feet or eight furlongs (a furlong is 660 feet) because it was necessary to have a unit of measure that was divisible in another English unit of measure called the “yard.” Some of us are familiar with track races that divide up the mile, like the 440 (quarter-mile) and the 880 (half-mile).
Americans have voraciously resisted changing over to the metric system, so we have retained the English system and the beloved unit of measure called “the mile.” On an aesthetic level, the mile has a special allure about it. An interesting book was written by Neil Bascomb called The Perfect Mile, describing Roger Bannister’s historic breaking of the 4-minute mile in 1954. It is a great book that will give you a better understanding of the psychology of a mid-distance runner. The mile, or the metric equivalent, the 1,500-meters, still has a huge appeal for track fans. Alan Webb’s recent breaking of the 4-minute barrier as a high schooler in 2001 rekindled our interest in the mile and shows that we are still drawn to the mystery and the mystique of this distance.
Here’s what I propose to you: Between now and the release of the next issue of South Texas Fitness and Health, go out to a track and run an all-out mile. You’ll gain an immediate appreciation for the proper pacing that it takes to run a mile. It takes a certain ratio of speed and endurance. Here is a chart of the type of energy system we use in various distances:
Event
1 mile
3 mile
6 mile
26.2 mile
Speed
20%
10%
5%
5%
Aerobic Endurance
25%
70%
80%
90%
Anaerobic Endurance
55%
20%
15%
5%
Running an occasional timed mile, and working periodically on your mid-distance speed, will result in a carry-over effect that can help you run faster 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons and marathons. Let’s hope the mile will help you, just as it helped the Romans; to measure your progress and help you ultimately to carpe diem–seize the day!
Paul Baltutis is the manager of Soler’s Sports in Alamo Heights. He is a certified marathon coach for team in training. He can reached at sage_run03@yahoo.com
