In Pursuit of a Record

Some records are more impressive than others. For instance, Usian Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds for the 100m and Min Bahadur Sherchan’s successful conquering of Mount Everest at age 76 are astonishing feats that stretch the boundaries of human possibility. On the other hand, my roommate Steve’s record time of 62 seconds for the fastest anti-clockwise lap of Arrigo Park ran by a resident of our apartment is somewhat less awe-inspiring. Yet that was the record I was training to beat on this fine Tuesday evening.

Although Steve’s 62 second lap has thus far failed to garner the attention of Michael Johnson, kinesiologists, or the Guinness Book of Records, it is still an impressive time. From looking at the concrete track that circumnavigates the park and our running experience, we decided that a lap of the park is about 400m. Considering Johnson’s 400m world record stands at 43.17, 62 seconds is a quick time and Steve is no slouch having run varsity cross country throughout high school and for some of college.

If I were to have been a track runner, I always imagined that the 400m might have been my event. Whilst not notably fast, I possess long strides that I can sustain at a decent pace for a lap. More importantly, watching Johnson set that world record in Atlanta as a 6 year old (I was 6, not Johnson) was one of my earliest memories of witnessing sporting greatness, alongside watching Karel Poborsky guide a talented Czech Republic team to the Euro 1996 final.

I was involved in the race in which Steve set the record and I was not too far behind, clocking in at 66 seconds. Now you may think that shaving four seconds off a 400m time will be no more challenging than shaving 4cm off Gandalf’s beard, but two factors meant it would be challenging.

1. My 66 second lap was achieved running flat out and afterwards I felt light headed for the rest of the day. 2. Steve could further improve his record and considering his running pedigree, superior technique and the  fact he ran in vans last time, he could probably improve faster than me.

My workout was designed to improve both speed and stamina (the essential components to 400m running). I sprinted the straights and jogged the bends of the roughly oval track for two sets of four laps. Fuelled by the once-per-lap smells of weed emanating from a baggy trousered chap lurking in the park, I ran hard and it was a good first step towards setting the Arrigo park lap record*⁺.

*by a member of our apartment.
⁺ in the anti-clockwise direction.