Jan. 20, 2023
This past week Ned Price brought to my attention that this Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023 will be the fortieth anniversary of Bill Stewart, Ann Arbor, MI breaking of the World Record for the Masters Mile at 4 minutes 11 seconds. The previous record holder was Jim McDonald of New Zealand at 4:18.5. Since then of course the record has been lowered considerably and is now held by Bernard Legat at 3:54.91 set on February 14, 2015 at the Millrose Games. I must confess I really didn't know anything about Bill Stewart, but Ned sent me a copy of the March 1983 "National Masters News" and the story is there.
Stewart Betters World Mile Mark
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, January 22. Ann Arbor's Bill Stewart today staked a claim as potentially one of the top veteran middle-distance runners in history.
In one of the most impressive performances by a masters runner in recent years, Stewart became the fastest over-age-40 miler in the world by recording a sizzling 4:11.0 in the Michigan Relays.
The time betters by seven seconds the listed world over-40 mile record set by New Zealand's Jim McDonald in 1977. It betters Ray Hatton's 7-year old U.S. mark of 4:24.0 by an astonishing 13 seconds.
Stewart who turned 40 on January 6, was pleased, but said, "I ran a tentative race," he said. " feel I can do a 4:05."The health education teacher was unofficially timed in 3:53 at the 1500 meter point. The world 1500 mark is 3:52 held by France's Michel Bernard since 1972. Ernie Billups holds the U.S. mark of 3:59.5.
Stewart's secret. "I've been doing some hiking in Peru." he said. "Then for the past 22 weeks, I put in about 115 miles per week, working out mostly with the University of Michigan people."
Ken Stone on Masterstrack.com had a short interview with Stewart when his 4:11 was broken twenty years later and a short discussion on what is a legal track. Here it is:
The masters mile record that never was
On March 3, 1938, Glenn Cunningham of Kansas ran a mile indoors at Dartmouth. His time of 4:04.4 would have lowered the day’s outdoor world record by two seconds. The 4:04 was an indoor best, of course. But not one for the record books. It came on a dreaded “oversized track” – illegal for record purposes. Last Saturday, Tony Young of Washington state ran a mile indoors in Seattle. His time of 4:08.6 crushed the previous American masters indoor record by more than two seconds. His performance will be consigned to the asterisk trash heap as well. It was on an oversized track – 307 meters to the lap.
Separate lists for oversized-track marks have been maintained for decades. But maybe it’s time to chuck this statistical inequity. Just for yucks, I perused the “oversized” mile marks listed in Ed Gordon’s annual TAFWA All-Time World Indoor List booklet (blue pages for men, pink for women.) In the 2003 edition, the five fastest mile performers on an oversized track are Sydney Maree (3:53.79), Steve Scott (3:54.20), Don Paige (3:54.22), Ray Flynn (3:54.77) and John Walker (3:55.3). But check out their best miles indoors on standard (200m or less) tracks: Maree 3:52.40, Scott 3:51.8, Paige 3:58.3, Flynn 3:51.20 and Walker 3:52.8.
Notice anything? Yeah, me too. Except for Paige, these studs ran faster on standard tracks with tight turns, usually banked. The average improvement going from oversized to standard size of the four cited: 2.5 seconds. Could it be that oversized tracks put milers at a disadvantage?
OK, I’ll grant that this is a bogus comparison. Not enough data points. It also doesn’t take into account the more competitive fields these guys faced on the shorter tracks. But hey – maybe in the case of the mile, those banked whipsaw turns are an unfair advantage. Not so much for quarter-milers and 600-meter racers, but likely for milers and longer.
But who cares what stat freaks think? Ask any masters miler who’s the best ever indoors, and the honest answer is Tony Young.
In fact, I asked the guy who lost the record.
Twenty years ago yesterday, masters miler Bill Stewart entered an open race indoors at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and took third behind Earl Jones. Bill clocked 4:11 – now the listed American masters record. I e-mailed Bill a couple days after Young’s race, and he replied immediately:
“I had not heard. If you are in contact with Tony, send my congratulations. I am happy someone finally ran faster. Re the track size — it should not matter, but it probably will attract some attention and create some discussion. I think the IAAF does not recognize times run on oversized tracks. But hey — 4:08 is 4:08!!”
Back when he was 40, Stewart noted, he thought he would run a faster mile outdoors, but “I got caught up running on the roads. Set American records at 15K and 25K but managed to run 3:52 -53 several times for the 1500.”
His sub-4:10 mile never came. These marks aren’t chopped liver. More like rare caviar.
Stewart continued: “Right now (at age 60), if I could run 5 minutes for the mile I would be pretty happy. Staying fit is easier than staying fast.”
And what say the new (non)record claimant?
Young wrote me: “Yes, it is a bummer about the track dimensions. But whatever the rules are, then so be it. The UW track felt amazingly quick as I was doing some strides. Or maybe it was because it was the first time I have worn spikes for a while?”
He thinks he’ll go faster outdoors, of course – shooting for a sub-4:05 (as he told me in my masterstrack.com interview). He says he plans to run an 800/1000 on February 1 (again on the illegal UW track) and probably a 3000-meter tune-up on Feb. 15 for a masters 3000 exhibition at the USATF indoor open nationals in Boston.
“(Then) maybe another mile if there is one — if not, then come late April somewhere (outdoor on an oversized, downhill track!),” he writes from Redmond, Washington.
History has a way of playing tricks on athletes’ plans, though. It would be beyond sad if Tony were unable to lower his outdoor masters best of 4:09.61 from last June. It would be sadder still if record-keeping authorities continued to ignore true bests.
On March 12, 1938, Cunnigham set a “legal” world indoor mile record of 4:07.4 (lowering his previous world record by a second). But nobody would touch the “illegal” record of 4:04 for another 16 years. (And it was another Kansan, Wes Santee, who ducked under 4:04 indoors, going 4:03.8.)
How many years will it be before another American masters runner beats 4:08.6 on a “legal” track?
Ned Price tells me that Bill, now 80, is currently recovering from a hip replacement.
In looking for material on this piece I found the following "Sports Illustrated" article by the late Kenny Moore covering a Masters Mile race in Eugene, OR involving a number of the great runners of the 1960's after they had turned 40. The pack included Jim Ryun, Gerry Lindgren, Kenny Moore, Tracy Smith, and also Bill Stewart the subject of this piece. Here is the link. I was fascinated by this article and am sure you will be as well. Kenny Moore was an incredible storyteller. George Brose
Nostalgia By The Mile by Kenny Moore "Sports Illustrated" June 22, 1987
I think those faster times on smaller banked tracks reflected the field of runners together with the noise of the crowd. This small size sample of 5 does not mean anything. If you look at the other marks on larger tracks, it is easy to go with the larger tracks. Many do not equal their indoor times in outdoor races due to the weather and by that time the injuries. Bill Schnier
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