In an exclusive interview with AW, Nick Willis reveals what it’s been like for him running sub-four minute miles over two decades

When Nick Willis crossed the line in the Wanamaker Mile in January he created athletics history.

In clocking 3:59.71, the 38-year-old New Zealander became the first person ever to run a sub-four minute mile for 20 consecutive years, a record which began 3:58.15 aged 20 in 2003 for the University of Michigan at the Notre Dame Meyo Indoor Invitational in Indiana.

Speaking to AW, the double Olympic medallist and Commonwealth 1500m champion opens up about the emotion he felt on the start line in New York, racing with Hicham El Guerrouj to meeting Jakob Ingebrigtsen and how the perspective from running as a teenager to now has changed.

“I was out of my league [in that race] and I was a full nine seconds off the lead,” Willis smiles as he recalls the race which saw him create history. “I had probably no right being there but it was a huge honour and an awesome stage to commemorate my career in this tradition of miling. The Wanamaker Mile is one of, if not the most famous mile in the world, alongside the Emsley Carr Mile. 

“I was aware of it [the record] but I didn’t realise it was as much as it would require over the last few laps. It wasn’t until the announcer said he needed a 28.7 to break it so I was thinking here we go. I knew it would be a nail biter and I missed out on it just a month before by the same margin that I got it at the Millrose Games.

"As the crowd cheered my name on the start line I almost had to hold myself back from tears." @nickwillis chats to @TimAdams76 on how he felt being the first person to run a sub-four minute mile over 20 consecutive years ?

Watch on Youtube ➡️ https://t.co/OMOJPQiWwG pic.twitter.com/kwcSuzk2iV

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) February 24, 2022

Willis finished ninth in a high quality race which saw Ollie Hoare take victory in an Australian record of 3:50.83, the fourth quickest mile of 2022. Josh Kerr also finished second in 3:52.27 and has since then clocked 3:48.87 in what was a British and European record and the third fastest in history.

The days of Roger Bannister’s sub-four minute mile from 1954 are long over. It’s become commonplace to run under four minutes but Willis has now done it every year for two decades.

The New Zealander has won Olympic 1500m silver and bronze, a world indoor 1500m bronze and in 2006 became Commonwealth 1500m champion.

So how do the achievements compare?

“There were two parts,” Willis said. “It was very humbling and a big honour to be cheered by the crowd as my name was announced on the start line. I almost had to hold myself back from tears that they were still giving me recognition. The funny part is that for a lot of my career I wanted that recognition and that’s what I sought for.

“That’s why I strived to be a known athlete but now at 38 I couldn’t care less. I’m ready to move on from all of that stuff and not be known than ‘Nick the runner’ and here’s this occasion which has propelled me up perhaps more than Olympic medals.  

Excited to announce that I’ve joined the innovative and brilliant team at @Tracksmith

I’m not retiring; I’m turning amateur.https://t.co/VBGko9jMIZ pic.twitter.com/rZTQkNjvgW

— Nick Willis (@nickwillis) May 12, 2020

For Willis, running and life in general is about perspective. He regularly takes part in skateboarding, his wife Sierra Boucher now coaches the New Zealander and two years ago he left Adidas to partner with independent running brand Tracksmith – as a member of their marketing team on top of competing for them.

“I need those other outlets and I want the exhilaration and the fun,” Willis said. “Running is the ultimate pursuit of the late gratification. You have to work and work towards something and then you get the reward afterwards and it’s extremely satisfying. At my stage of my career now, I’ve reached the pinnacle and I’m never going to get as fast as I have before.

“It’s a lot harder to experience that delayed gratification anymore. I could put in as much work as I want and I’m not going to get the returns that I used to get. Now I need to get that exhilaration in other areas and I want them more immediately, especially that I’m a parent now so I’ve got more responsibilities.

“When I was younger running was a tool to make a name for myself. It was the one sport that I excelled at more than any other sport but no matter what sport it was I wanted to get my name in the newspaper, represent my country and get the fame and the glory as a teenager. 

“A lot of my later career in running was based on gratitude. I have a unique privilege that I get to do something that many people in the world dream of doing. They work just as hard as me but I’ve been given a god given talent and genetic ability which has allowed me to run and recover quicker than other people.

“I would be a bad steward of these gifts if I didn’t approach it with an appreciative attitude. I can still do a 10-mile run at 38 with younger guys and I want to help them out with their workouts and maybe jump in a few races as a pacemaker.”

So what of the current generation? The obvious name is Jakob Ingebrigtsen who is the current Olympic 1500m champion and record-holder, double European 1500m champion and record-holder and also a European 5000m record-holder.

The astonishing 24-year-old 1500m world record of 3:26.00 is still held by El Guerrouj though. Willis raced the Moroccan on countless occasions throughout his career so is well placed to judge the rise of Ingebrigtsen and what the Norwegian can achieve in his career.

“I don’t recall meeting Jakob [Ingebrigtsen] when he was younger but I went up to him at the Prefontaine Classic a couple of years ago and he told me that we’d actually met before when he was 14 at a pizzeria in Oslo. I was friends with Henrik [Ingebrigtsen] at the time and the whole family was there. He was just a little kid then but now he is the superstar. 

“Can 3:26 be beaten? I think it’s possible for the guys to beat it but 3:25 is tough and I’m not sure that Jakob has that speed so it will be interesting to see.”