Editing Middle-distance running (section)

===Mile===
{{main|Mile run}}
This length of middle-distance race, {{convert|1760|yd|m|3}}, is very common in countries that do not use the [[SI|metric system]], and is still often referred to as the "[[Blue Riband (disambiguation)|Blue Riband]]" of the track. When [[World Athletics]] (then known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation) decided in 1976 to recognize only world records for metric distances, it made an exception for the mile, and records are kept to this day.

Historically, the mile took the place that the 1500 m has today. It is still raced on the world-class level, but usually only on select occasions, like the famous [[Wanamaker Mile]], held annually at the [[Millrose Games]]. Running a mile in less than four minutes is a famously difficult achievement, long thought impossible by the scientific community.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/7404|title = The Physiological Basis of Athletic Records|last1 = Hill|first1 = A. V.|journal = The Scientific Monthly|year = 1925|volume = 21|issue = 4|pages = 409–428|bibcode = 1925SciMo..21..409H}}</ref> The first man to break the [[four-minute mile|four-minute barrier]] was Englishman [[Roger Bannister]] at [[Oxford]] in 1954.

The current record holders are [[Hicham El Guerrouj]] ([[Morocco]]) (3:43.13, Rome, 7 July 1999) and [[Faith Kipyegon]] ([[Kenya]]) (4:07.64, Monaco, 21 July 2023).<ref name="IAAF World Records"/>