Editing Middle-distance running (section)

===600 yards===
{{See also|Men's 600 yards world record progression}}
This was a popular distance, particularly indoors, when [[Imperial units|imperial distances]] were common. In the era of wooden 11-lap-to-a-mile tracks (common prior to metrication), this was one lap longer than a quarter-mile.

In 1882, American [[Lon Myers]] set what was then a world record at {{convert|600|yd|m|2}}, running it in 1:11.4.<ref name="la84foundation1">{{cite web|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1975/JSH0202/jsh0202b.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1975/JSH0202/jsh0202b.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=L. E. Myers, "World's Greatest Runner"|author=Joe D. Willis and Richard G. Wettan |publisher= Journal of Sport History|date=2 November 1975 |access-date=26 October 2011}}</ref>

The event was a common event for most American students because it was one of the standardized test events as part of the [[President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition#Awards|President's Award on Physical Fitness]].<ref>{{cite web |title=President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition |url=http://www.fitness.gov/pdfs/50-year-anniversary-booklet.pdf |publisher=Government of the United States |access-date=May 3, 2025}}</ref> In the late 1960s and early 1970s, [[Martin McGrady]], who had minimal success at longer or shorter races, made his reputation, set world records and drew many fans to arenas to watch him race elite competitors, including Olympians, at this unusual distance.