Why Run 1?

Why RUN 1? In an environment where more miles are better, there is a growing grassroots movement in the running community to "Bring Back the Mile." Most of us remember running our first mile or know something about it, but over the years we’ve focused on running 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons and marathons. No running distance has the history and the appeal of the Mile. It is America's distance - how many miles did you run; what is your minute-per-mile pace; how many miles-per-hour? 
Join the movement - register to run the GNC Live Well Liberty Mile and find out “How Fast Can You RUN 1."

Check out the TweetChat with Patrice Matamoros, race director for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon and the NEW GNC Live Well Liberty Mile, on “Why Run 1."

Are you ready to run 1? Check out these fast, fun facts about the mile!

• A mile is only 5,280 feet
• Hicham El Guerrouj beat the world record in 1999 in 3:43.13 -- El Guerrouj averaged 16.134 mph during his WR
• Svetlana Masterkova set the female world record in 1996 in 4:12.56
• A cheetah can run a mile in 0:51.4
• An elephant can run a mile in 2:24
• A squirrel can run a mile in 5:00
• A pig can run a mile in 5:27
• A chicken can run a mile in 6:40
• An alligator can “belly run” a mile in 7:30
• A sloth can “run” a mile in 400 minutes
• The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races; it survived track and field's switch to metric distances in the 1900s
• The word "mile" comes from the Latin "mille," meaning thousand. A mile was 1,000 Roman strides, a stride being two paces
• The first American to break four minutes was the University of California’s Don Bowden, who ran 3:58.7 on June 1, 1957
• The fastest mile by a racewalker is 5:38.2, on an indoor track
• The record for running a mile backward is 6:02.35, by D. Joseph James of India on August 10, 2002