The Emsley Carr Mile, one of the most historic mile race series of all time, is back at the London Diamond League on July 18, 2026. Josh Kerr, two-time World 3000m indoor champion, World outdoor champion at 1,500 meters, and Olympic silver and bronze medalist at 1,500 meters, is making a huge effort to break the WR for the mile, set in 1999. This is an effort, titled Project 222, by Josh Kerr’s sponsor, Brooks Running.
I went into our archives and found this piece from Stuart Weir on the Emsley Carr Mile, which should help you appreciate the stature of the mile race.
The truth is, Ian Stewart, who won the Emsley Carr Mile (1970) and went sub-4 with his brother, Peter, also an Emsley Carr Mile champion (1971, 1972), is a big part of why the event still exists. Ian began including the mile in the Crystal Palace Meets, and continued doing so when he moved the meet to Birmingham. Gabe Jennings of the USA won it in 2006. To me, the most important point on the mile is the Emsley Carr Book. This book contains the names of all competitors and the signatures of all the winners. It is a history of the Men’s Mile since 1953!
Ian Stewart and David Bedford are two of the main reasons I began attending British events nearly two decades ago. Both were at the top of their game in terms of putting on track meets and marathons. I wanted to see for myself what the Brits were doing right. I also respected them and their generation of British runners as the true keepers of the sport’s flame.
This article, by Stuart Weir, keeps you informed about this fine race. Breaking four minutes for the mile still means you are world-class. The endurance, speed, and dedication to running four laps around a 400-meter track in under 60 seconds per lap are still impressive, even with 521 American males having run sub-4 minutes (approximately 1,500 worldwide). In the 2018 Emsley Carr Mile, thirteen men from nine countries broke four minutes for the mile.
The Emsley Carr Mile is an annual invitational men’s one-mile athletics event held in the United Kingdom. The race has been part of the London Grand Prix since 2008. The race was inaugurated in 1953 by Sir William Carr in memory of his father, Sir Emsley Carr, a journalist.
One of the original aims of the race was to provide athletes with an opportunity to break the 4-minute mile. Ironically, a year later, Roger Bannister did run the first ever sub-4-minute mile, but it was not until 1956 that Derek Ibbotson won the race, running 3:59.4, that the feat was achieved. As part of the ongoing tradition, the race winner signs a red Moroccan leather-bound book.
A look at the winners’ list is like the history of middle-distance running:
Gordon Pirie, GB 1953
Kip Keino, Kenya, 1966
Jim Ryan, USA 1967
Filbert Bayi, Tanzania 1975
Sebastian Coe, GB 1977
Steve Ovett, GB 1979 and 1983
John Walker, New Zealand,1987
Said Aouita, Morocco, 1989
Haile Gebrselassie. Ethiopia, 1999
Hitcham El Guerrouj, Morocco 2000, 2001, 2002
Bernard Lagat, USA 2009
Asbel Kiprop, Kenya 2014, 2015
This year’s field of 17 included 9 nationalities. There had never been an Australian winner in the history of the event. Not until this year, when two Australians battled for victory, with Stewart McSweyn running a PR of 3:54.60 to hold off Ryan Gregson in 3:55.10. Paul Chelimo (USA) was third (3:55.96). McSweyn said afterwards: “It is only the second mile I have ever officially done. I have never raced here before, so it was going to be a good experience no matter what. But to perform well and get a PR, I am pretty happy with that. The track was crazy good, I like it because the crowd sounds really close. When you are running in lane one, it sounds as they are in lane three or four, right on you. I definitely want to do it again if I can”.
The 4-minute mile is now commonplace, with 13 runners finishing under that mark in the 2018 race.
