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My First Ever Mile Race

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Once the starter calls, “Runners on your mark…set...,” my mind goes into a different zone. The gun erupts but silences the nerves. Immediately following the gun, the crowd explodes with cheer. A pack of track runners furiously take off from the starting line. We are beginning a four lap race of hell, the mile. Throughout the course of my high school career, this exciting scene became very familiar to me. I always look forward to track season, and running the mile is by far my favorite event. To me, there is something about the event that makes it magical. While running the mile, to achieve my goals, I always focused on a strategy my coach told me before my first ever mile race. He called the strategy the four P’s of the mile. To run a successful mile, one must follow the four step process of pushing, pacing, positioning, and persevering. The mile race originated in England during the 1800’s. It was used as the standard distance for gambling races. Eventually, the mile race soon became known as “The Mile” near the end of the 19th century when professional foot racing became the most popular sport in England. As time continued, track and field spread across the world, and the mile was the main event. For the next century, it was a mystery if a human could run a sub four minute mile. Eventually, in 1954, Roger Bannister became the first man to do so. In many opinions, no running distance or field event, has the history, the appeal, or the “magic” of the mile. On an outdoor

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