It Emsley Car Mile, One of the most historic mile races of all time in the London Diamond League on 18th July 2026. Josh Kerr, The two-time world indoor 3000m champion, outdoor world 1500m champion and Olympic silver and bronze medalist in the 1500m is pushing hard to break the 1999 WR mile. This is an effort that is titled. Project 222, By Josh Kerr Sponsor, Brooks running.
I went into our archives and found this piece from Stuart Weir on the Emsley Carr Mile which should help you appreciate the stature of the mile race.
the truth is Ian Stewart, who won Emsley Carr Mile (1970) and went to the 4th degree with his brother, Peter, also he Emsley Carr Mile Champion (1971, 1972); is a big part of why the event still exists. Ian started covering the mile at Crystal Palace Meets and continued to do so when he moved the meet to Birmingham. Gabe Jennings of the United States won it in 2006. The highlight for me by a mile is the Emsley Carr book. This book contains the names of all competitors and the signatures of all winners. That’s the story of the men’s mile since 1953.
Ian Stewart and: David Bedford are two of the main reasons I started attending British events nearly two decades ago. Both were at the top of their game in terms of running meetings and marathons. I wanted to see for myself what the British were doing right. I also respected them and their generation of British runners as true keepers of the sport’s flame.
This article by Stuart Weir informs you about this great race. Breaking four minutes for the mile still means you’re world class. The endurance, speed, and dedication to run a sub-60-second lap around a 400-meter track is still impressive, even as 521 American men have run under 4 minutes (about 1,500 worldwide). Thirteen men from nine countries broke 4 minutes for the mile at the 2018 Emsley Carr Mile.
The Emsley Carr Mile is an annual invitational men’s athletics event held in the United Kingdom. The race has been part of the London Grand Prix since 2008. The race was opened in 1953 by Sir William Carr in memory of his father, Sir Emsley Carr, a journalist.
One of the original goals of the race was to give athletes a chance to break the 4-minute mile. Ironically, a year later, Roger Bannister ran the first 4-minute mile, but it wasn’t until 1956 that Derek Ibbotson won the race, running 3:59.4. As part of an ongoing tradition, the winner of the race signs a red Moroccan leather book.
Looking at the list of winners is like looking at the history of middle distance running.
Gordon Peary, GB 1953
Kip Keino, Kenya, 1966
Jim Ryan, USA 1967
Filbert Bai, Tanzania 1975
Sebastian Coe, GB 1977
Steve Ovett, GB 1979 and 1983
John Walker, New Zealand, 1987
Said Aouita, Morocco, 1989
Haile Gebrselassie. Ethiopia, 1999
Hitcham El Guerrouj, Morocco 2000, 2001, 2002.
Bernard Lagat, USA 2009
Asbel Kiprop, Kenya 2014, 2015
This year’s field of 17 included 9 nationalities. There has never been an Australian winner in the history of the event. Only this year when two Aussies battled it out for the win, with Stuart McSwain PR 3:54.60 to hold off Ryan Gregson in 3:55.10. Paul Chelimo (USA) was third (3:55.96). “This is only the second mile I’ve ever officially done. I’ve never raced here so it would be a good experience regardless. But to perform well and get a PR, I’m pretty happy with that. The track was crazy good, I like it because the crowd sounds really close. When you run like they run on the front lines. again if I can.”
The sub-4 minute mile is now commonplace, with 13 runners finishing under that mark in the 2018 race.
