The Emsley Carr Mile: A Brief History

The annual UK-based event began in 1953, inaugurated by Sir William Carr in memory of his father Sir Emsley Carr, who was a Newspaper Editor knighted for his charitable wartime efforts.

The event was conceived at a time when athletes were coming tantalisingly close to breaking the four-minute mile barrier, the thinking being that it would provide them with the perfect platform to achieve the feat.

However, before the second staging of the event in 1954, a young Roger Bannister had already run 3:59.4 seconds at the Iffey Road track in Oxford, becoming the first man in history to dip under four minutes. Interestingly, Bannister never competed in the Emsley Carr Mile.

The winner of the race each year writes their signature in the Emsley Carr Trophy, a red Moroccan leather-bound book. Over the years, the race has grown in stature and has seen some truly world class athletes add their names to the list.

The early years were largely British-dominated affairs; Derek Ibbotson in 1956 being the first man to break four minutes and fulfil the event’s original intention. Olympic 5000m champion Murray Halberg was the first overseas winner of the Emsley Carr Mile; the New Zealander running 4:06.50 in 1958.

Almost a decade of British dominance ensued in the glory days of the late 70s and early 80s, with the likes of British Record holder David Moorcroft, Olympic Champion Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Mark Rowland all taking wins during this time.

At the turn of the century, legendary Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj ran the fastest Emsley Carr Mile in history, clocking 3:45.96. He went on to win in 2001 and 2002 to complete a hat-trick of victories. More recently still, Bernard Lagat, Silas Kiplagat and Augustine Choge have all graced the rostrum, adding further to an already impressive list.

Last year Asbel Kiprop ran 3:51.89 at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham to win the 62nd Emsley Carr Mile, and the reigning world champion will be keen to repeat his victory in London.