The romans were famous for building roads everywhere they went. In latin, a stride was two steps, about two feet five inches. A mile took place in 15 92 to get to where we are today lengthwise. We still don't do that mile long race in the olympics. It's 15 sixteenth of a mile.
Nobody thought the 4-minute mile was humanly possible, until it was. The story of how it happened is remarkable. So sit back and take a listen.
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