Tabor Stevens' face shows the pain of his effort as he crosses the finish line. All photos by Alan Versaw.
There is still no four-minute mile in the annals of Colorado track and field history. But there is a new all-time record holder in the event.
Better still, he is a young man who grew up competing in Colorado. This time, the honors stays home.
Long before Tabor Stevens was an Adams State Grizzly, he ran for Canon City Middle School and, later, Canon City High School. The high point of Stevens' high school career arguably came in the state 3200 his senior year where he finished third in 4A with a time of 9:29.23.
Five years later, it's difficult to comprehend what his career has blossomed into--three DII national titles (one in cross country, two in the steeplechase) and, now, the all-time fastest mile on Colorado soil.
The attempt at a four-minute mile had been brewing on the Adams State team for a few months. Finding a time and a place to pull off an attempt, however, proved to be a different story.
A space, however, was carved out in the outdoor track schedule, and the chosen place was La Junta (elevation just over 4000 feet) at the 2015 La Junta Tiger Relays.
But, even once the date was set, the prognosis wasn't necessarily good. All week long, Friday's forecast showed 15-20 mph winds throughout most of the day. Getting in a legitimate attempt at a four-minute mile anywhere in Colorado is tough enough. Wind adds a whole new layer of difficulty to the equation.
The forecasted winds, however, never really morphed into anything more than a light breeze.
A 1:30 race start time shifted to a little past 2 PM for reasons not made clear to the crowd. It was a little disconcerting, though, to note that 1:30 conditions were pretty nice. "Pretty nice," though, stuck around until 2 PM. The sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds, and the temperatures stayed comfortably cool.
On all weather checklist items except oxygen density, conditions were as cooperative as could be hoped for.
A field of eight Adams State Grizzlies--current, former, and redshirt--stepped to the line to take part in the attempt.
It wasn't long, however, before it became evident that nowhere near all eight would be in the hunt for the four-minute mile.
Kevin Batt checks back on his teammates after setting the pace through the half-mile.
Kevin Batt led the pace through the half-mile, then pulled to the side, leaving only Oliver Aitchison, Matt Daniels, and Tabor Stevens on a pace with any sort of hope of capturing a four-minute mile. The half-mile split registered at 2:01.
Stevens sets off against the clock on the final lap.
By the end of lap three, it was down to Stevens and Daniels, with Stevens already separated from Daniels by a span of almost 10 meters.
The final lap was all Tabor Stevens and the clock. Though probably a hair under 60 seconds for the final 400 meters, Stevens came up just short of the elusive Colorado four-minute mile.
He did, however, shave better than 2.7 seconds off the existing record, finishing in 4:01.27.
As Stevens recounted after the race, the plan was to negative split the effort, finishing the second half mile faster than the first. The plan very nearly worked to perfection. The first half mile was fast enough to allow the plan to work. The second half mile was faster than the first. It simply wasn't enough faster than the first.
In the minutes following the race, Tabor Stevens likely signed more autographs than he has in his entire life. The magnitude of his accomplishment was far from lost on the athletes in attendance. Stevens was very gracious--signing every imaginable article of clothing until the line waiting for his signature was spent.
And, so, the four-minute mile remains unconquered in Colorado, but after Tabor Stevens' effort today it seems a bit more within reach than ever before. This effort gives hope--as no other effort before has--that the goal is attainable.
And, it's a reasonable bet that the short list of places for subsequent efforts narrows down to Holly, Lamar, La Junta, Sterling, and Grand Junction. It would be fitting if the mark finally falls in La Junta. For it was in La Junta that hope was given new life.
Race Video (my apologies for the issues here, it's tough to video, sort through crowd issues, and take photos all at the same time, but at least this archives the event):
Tabor Stevens Post-Race Interview