Imagine Running A Mile In Under 4 Minutes
A behind-the-scenes look at Breaking4.
If Bravo and ESPN had a baby, it would be Impersonal Foul. This newsletter is free, but consider becoming a paying subscriber for $6/month to support the work that I’m doing.
For partnership inquiries or to just say hello, email madeline@impersonalfoul.com.
I am not built to run.
I’m tall and have bad knees and prefer spending my time looking at Tom Brady’s Instagram Story or High Sport pants on The Real Real.
However, when Nike reached out to ask if I wanted to come with them to Paris to watch Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon attempt to run a mile in under 4 minutes, I immediately said yes.
Kipyegon currently holds the record for the fastest mile at 4:07:64, which is faster than any song on Lorde’s new album except ‘Shapeshifter’ clocking in at 4:17.
In April, Nike announced Breaking4, an event that really was an EVENT to celebrate Kipyegon’s training journey (there’s a three-part documentary on Amazon Prime btw) and, of course, they livestreamed the attempt for the world to see.
If you’re reading this, then you’re probably like me and love a good peak behind the curtain to understand how someone actually prepares for something like this.
Ahead of the main event and Nike being Nike, they built out a Breaking4 HQ (with bites from favorite Mamiche iykyk) to showcase the process of making Kipyegon as fast as humanly possible.
I was obviously the most fascinated by what she was wearing. We met with Janett Nichol, Nike’s VP of NXT Apparel Innovation, who showed us the bra they 3D printed for Kipyegon.
We got to hold it and it was paper thin??? I truly do not understand how they created it and am not smart enough to figure it out!
We also met with another genius, Amy Jones Vateralus, VP of the Nike Sport Research Lab, who walked us through the speed suit.
It sort of reminded me of the ones that swimmers wear and I honestly feel like they should make a version for normies like me, because I wouldn’t NOT wear it to a reformer pilates class…
We also got to chat briefly with Elliott Heath, a Nike Running Footwear Product Manager, who let us hold the spikes that Kipyegon was running in.
When I say these things also weighed NOTHING they really weighed nothing. Again, I don’t understand how they invented these, but of course, Nike figured it out!!!
More than just physically touching some of the items invented specifically for Breaking4, we got to hear from some of the pacers who ran with her during the attempt to help her go faster.
I’ll cut to the chase: Kipyegon didn’t break four, but it didn’t matter.
On Thursday (my birthday!), I laced up my Nike dad sneakers and headed onto the track.
Just kidding, but I actually do think they should make regular people try and do it to show just how fast a 4-minute mile actually is.
We arrived at Stade Charléty with plenty of time to down ginger shots and fresh juices (it is a Nike event, after all) before heading to our seats to watch Saturday Night Live’s Ego Nwodim emcee the evening.
In true Impersonal Foul fashion, I ran into my friend and mentor, Lauren Sherman, who broke the news to me that Anna Wintour was stepping down while in the bleachers.
Very! On! Brand!
As they began introducing the pacers and Kipyegon, it felt like everyone was holding their breath.
I spoke with some people before the race who thought she’d break four and others who thought she’d just barely miss the mark.
Shaving off seconds on your already record-setting time is quite a feat.
As Kipyegon ran around the track, the pacers moved in an almost ballet-like fashion, ebbing and flowing and bouncing in front of, next to, and behind Kipyegon for the entire race.
Kipyegon came around the final curve and I suddenly had a realization that it honestly didn’t even matter if she broke 4.
For the past few days, we’ve heard over and over again how Kipyegon is “daring to dream,” which felt a little cheesy at first, I must admit.
However, watching Kipyegon quite literally dare to dream and act on that dream is hard to put into words.
Maybe I’m getting a little too existential, considering I write a Substack with a tagline “If Bravo and ESPN had a baby,” but maybe we all can think like that in our own lives?
I’ve been writing this newsletter for almost five years, and for a while, I felt like I was writing into the void (and I kind of was).
Had I given up and threw in the towel, I probably never would’ve done things like interview the creator behind
, launch with my work wife, , or be here in Paris witnessing history.That’s why I love writing about sports, talking about sports, and watching sports.
We can watch these elite athletes, who are the best at what they do, continually strive to do more and go further than we think is humanly possible, time and time again.
Kipyegon didn’t break four, but she showed us what’s possible when you dare to dream.
While my daring to dream looks like getting Jordon Hudson on the podcast and writing a New York Times bestseller about sports gossip, the sentiment echoed over the past few days hit home.
We can all continue to push beyond what we think is possible and really…I hate to say this…just do it.
If Bravo and ESPN had a baby, it would be Impersonal Foul. This newsletter is free, but consider becoming a paying subscriber for $6/month to support the work that I’m doing.
For partnership inquiries or to just say hello, email madeline@impersonalfoul.com.
So cool that you were there! I watched it, she did so well even if she didn’t break four!
Meeting my track coach boyfriend's running friends today, this couldn't come at a better time (aka now I have interesting talking points 🙏🏻🙏🏻)