Athletes behind him on that list include track and field greats John Walker, Mo Farrah (United Kingdom), Kip Keino (Kenya), Harald Hudak (West Germany), Bill Baillie, Rod Dixon and Dick Quax (all of whom had at one time held a world record). Other greats such as Steve Cram, Dave Moorcroft and Peter Elliot (UK) ran at Cooks but did not run under four minutes for the mile.
Ahead of Snell on the list are former world record holder Jurgen May (East Germany in 1965). His Cooks Gardens’ run in 1965 of 3m 53.8s remains a world best on a grass track.
The others are Craig Mottram (Australia in 2006) and Nick Willis with 3m 52.74s after his epic race with Mottram in 2006.
The New Zealand Mile Championships return to Cooks Gardens on Saturday, January 24, as part of the Pak’nSave Cooks International Classic when, hopefully, the roll of honour will grow significantly.
‘Come run or walk a mile at my place, the iconic Cooks Gardens, Whanganui’ (the late Sir Peter Snell)
There is an opportunity for people of all ages to complete a mile on Cooks Gardens track as part of the Pak’nSave Snell’s Mile Challenge on Sunday, November 9.
The challenge is a community-based event in which people of all ages can walk or run a mile at the iconic venue. Start times are based on age bands.
There are commemorative certificates for all and many spot prizes.
All entrants will receive a free ticket for the Cooks Classic in January as members of the Snell Mile Challenge Club. There is a prize for the school with the largest number of entrants and one for the school that has the highest percentage of their school roll as an encouragement for small schools, whether primary, intermediate or secondary.
Details of the event and how to enter can be found on the Athletics Whanganui website www.athleticswanganui.co.nz
All participants, as members of Snell Mile Challenge Club, are encouraged to continue their fitness goals by running or walking a mile a day.
Many are already doing that and more, as evidenced by the large numbers walking or running 5km each Saturday in the popular parkrun, starting at 8am opposite 182 Taupō Quay.
Even on the worst of days, there are regularly more than 100 participants in an event that is free and easy to register for through the parkrun website.
The Snell Mile Challenge is also good preparation for the Pak’nSave 3 Bridges Marathon in Whanganui on Sunday, November 30.
Whanganui needs these large events and Pak’nSave is to be congratulated for supporting three significant running events. The event on November 30 is more than just a marathon. It has distances to suit runners and walkers of all ages.
The programme starts with the marathon for walkers and runners at 6am. This is followed by the Property Brokers half marathon for runners and walkers at 8am. Unichem sponsors the quarter marathon commencing at 10am, with The Hits supporting the 5km at 11am. Relays are included with the Craigs Investment 4 x 5km relay (walkers and runners) at 9am. All start at Kowhai Park.
Our youngest athletes are also catered for with Front Runner from New Plymouth supporting the Kids-Fun-in-the-Sun–Run over 1.2km at 12.30 pm, starting on Somme Parade near the Dublin Street Bridge.
The 3 Bridges Marathon and half marathon are both World Athletics AIMS certified courses and the marathon has the honour of being selected for the sixth edition of the Abbott WMM Wanda Age Group Rankings Qualifying Series. Entries are open through the 3 Bridges website and the Whanganui Harrier Club website.
There are a lot of exciting running events in the months ahead in Whanganui and the Snell’s Mile Challenge is a good starting place or an important step on the journey.
