Endeavoring to break the 4:00 minute barrier in the 1950s, when no one else had done so, was a bold quest. Three men waged an epic battle to become the first man to accomplish the feat. Sir Roger Bannister of England, John Landy of Australia, and Wes Santee of the USA were living and training on three different continents but shared the same goal. In the book, The Perfect Mile author Neal Bascomb tells the story of the build-up to May 6, 1954 and the eventual showdown between Bannister and Landy in Vancouver to see who was the fastest man alive. Listen in as we discuss the personalities of each man, triumph, failure, and what it was like for Neal to walk the Iffley Road Track with Roger Bannister nearly fifty years after Roger ran 3:59.4.

Episode Content

Segment 1: Neal's background in athletics and writing. Hockey, Cross Country, Marathoning, Zen runs, knowing he wanted to be a writer early on, and a rough start to writing novels.

Segment 2: Neal doesn't have a favorite child but he might have a favorite book from his catalog. We discuss one of the books that makes my Mt. Rushmore of running titles and also happens to be one of Neal's personal favorites of his work: The Perfect Mile.

Segment 3: What's up next for Neal? A book about Gandhi, a TV series, and ascending Mt. Kilimanjaro.