Attention to detail as Josh Kerr targets Hicham El Guerrouj’s mile record

LONDON – Briton Josh Kerr hopes hitting peak physical form, blended with minute planning and the latest in running shoe innovation, can help propel him to a world record in the men’s mile.

He has chosen the Diamond League meet in London on July 18 to have a tilt at the 3min 43.13sec mark set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj in Rome back in 1999.

The 28-year-old United States-based Scot, the 2023 world 1,500m champion and 2024 Olympic silver medallist, currently holds the British record over the mile with 3:45.34, set in Eugene, Oregon in 2024.

“It is the most historic track record, but the current mark... has not been bettered this century,” Kerr said in a series of all-encompassing articles for British newspaper The Daily Telegraph laying bare his approach to the race.

“It’s too long. It’s time to bring this record into the modern era through training, technology and effort.

“I have won three world titles and two Olympic medals but joining Sir Roger (Bannister), as well as middle-distance legends Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram on the roll call of mile record holders, would be the biggest moment of my career.”

Kerr’s bid to break the 27-year-old record is built on a combination of factors, not least shoe technology.

The required pace to break the record involves an athlete running an average of 26.1kmh or 55.5sec laps.

Kerr, known as being highly selective in the races he runs, wears Brooks running shoes and the Scot contends the latest pair he will be donning, after months in the design lab, “will change athletics”.

“Night and day. The biggest leap in innovation that I have experienced in athletics. Years ahead,” were Kerr’s reactions to wearing the new shoes.

“I was like a child again on Christmas morning. It has been very special to see this vision come to life.”

Kerr said the newly custom-designed shoes, with a stiff but lightweight carbon fibre plate embedded in the sole, were “ultra aggressive” and offered up a rocker effect, with no cushioning beneath the heel.

“This sort of design suits the demands of a mile world record, where changes of pace should be less dramatic than a championship race and it is more about constantly holding an all-out record speed.”

Kerr, coached by Danny Mackey, lives at high altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but has also converted his bedroom into an altitude chamber to better benefit from the natural production of more oxygen-rich red blood cells.

He also goes to bed early to ensure that he gets sufficient sleep.

“After dinner, at about 7.45pm, my wife Larimar and I will go in. We can watch a film but we’re usually asleep by 8.30pm,” said the two-time world indoor 3,000m champion.

Devotion to the sport has seen Kerr miss out on life with extended family in the United Kingdom, while he has surrounded himself with a dedicated backroom staff including physiotherapists, mental coaches and even a “performance chef”.

Kerr’s defence of his 1,500m title at the 2025 world championships in Tokyo did not go to plan as he strained his calf in the semi-final – something for which he blames himself.

“Tokyo happened for a reason and it has only left me mentally stronger than ever for this world-record attempt,” he said.

Kerr will line up on July 18 in a strong field including American Yared Nuguse, whose North American mile record of 3:43.97 guarantees a dramatic race in the British capital. AFP