Track Hero Nick Willis Tries Sub-4:00 Again in NY

Over the course of five Olympics, the New Zealand mid-distance runner Nick Willis has become a track and field legend. At 38, he recently embarked on an unprecedented quest. GQ went trackside to witness his attempt at history – and uncover the secrets to his remarkable longevity.

It was as surreal as it was unlikely. On New Year’s Eve in New York City, as a scoreboard above the Armory Track counted down the minutes until 2022, and as a film crew and photographer shadowed his every move, Willis gathered himself for the impending effort, Eric Wills writes for the magazine.

Willis has run at least one sub-4:00 mile every year since 2003. John Walker, a fellow New Zealander and an Olympic gold medallist, held the record: 18 consecutive years, from 1973 to 1990. Willis matched Walker’s mark in 2020, then surpassed it.

And though this year, just two weeks after a positive Covid test, he ran it at 4:00.22, it felt less like an end than a beginning, Wills writes.

It was hard not to be struck by the simplest of truths, one that explains so much: Nick Willis loves to run.

Original article by Eric Wills, GQ, January 7, 2022.

Photo by Johnny Zhang.


Tags: GQ  Nick Willis  Running  

Another Indy 500 Win for Scott Dixon

Another Indy 500 Win for Scott Dixon

Chaos reigned in the IndyCar season finale on the new, hot and dark asphalt of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna, James Raia writes for the Monterey Herald. But after two days of constant…