On Monday, May 5, Oxford played host to the second annual Bannister Miles celebration with a community mile along the High Street and 24 one-mile track races at the Iffley Road Athletics Track, with four men running under four minutes in the elite race.
The event commemorated Sir Roger Bannister’s legendary sub-four-minute mile in 1954.
The celebration ended with the men’s elite race which saw Joe Wigfield of Wirral AC take the win. Just like Bannister on May 6 1954, the 25-year-old took a clear lead on the last lap and crossed the line in 3:56.64. Only a brisk northerly wind held him back from a British Milers Club record (3:55.70).
Elite men (Graham Smith)
Following closely behind was Jacob Cann from Western Tempo in 3:58.15 and Harry Wakefield from Salford Harrier’s who ran a new personal best of 3:58.42.
Rounding out the top four men who all ran under four minutes was Preston Harrier’s Tiaran Crorken in 3:59.46 who became the first man to run sub-four twice at Iffley Road.
Two Oxford University athletes in the elite race, Alex Gruen and Nicholas Whittaker, came through in 4:04.11 and 4:05.29. The track now boasts eight sub-fours in two years – as many as were run in the previous 70 years.
It was Cambridge’s victory in the elite women’s race, as Holly Dixon of Cambridge Harriers crossed the line in 4:40.05, ahead of Hannah Cameron (4:43.62) of Aberdeen. Isla McGowan of Banbury Harriers finished third following her U17 Mini London Marathon win the week prior.
Almost 300 athletes took part with the celebration also including para races and the novel one-mile steeplechase. Kieran O’Hara of Havering was the winner of the para 1500m race (4:08.50) while Mark Pearce of Birmingham Running AC (4:27.60) and Olivia McGhee from Rugby & Northampton (5:20.22) won the men and women’s steeplechase.
Thomas Renshaw, organiser of the event for the university’s cross-country club, said: “The celebration goes from strength to strength. It is becoming a magnificent magnet for top milers. Men and women from under-13s to veterans, come here to prove their worth early in the season.
“While the Community Mile was another massive success with over 1200 people running down the High Street and the ever growing ‘Family Wave’ a highlight of the morning activities.”
The event was run in tandem with the British Milers’ Club, which has faithfully promoted competition at this distinctively British distance for 62 years.
The second annual community mile saw waves and waves of runners sweep down the High Street and finish on Iffley Road, picking up finisher medals at the Sir Roger Bannister Track.
Chris Thompson, who represented GB in the 2020 Olympic marathon, tooted the starting horn with his son Theo. One of Roger Bannister’s great-grandchildren, six-year-old Saskia Townsend, ran in the family wave with her father, Barnaby Townsend.
All of this is part of a multi-year project to make this event the premier mile racing event in the country, culminating in the 75th anniversary of Bannister’s achievement in 2029.
