The 2 mile (10,560 feet or 3,218.688

metres The metre (British spelling Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable va ...

) is a historic

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This i ...

distance. Like the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switc ...

, it is still contested at some invitational meets due its historical chronology in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It has been largely superseded by the

3000 m The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

(approximately 1.864 miles) and

5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

, and by the 3200 m in NFHS

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

competitions. The

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

no longer keeps official

world records A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizat ...

for this distance; they are called world best instead. The world best for men is 7:58.61 set by

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Daniel Komen Daniel Kipngetich Komen (born 17 May 1976) Komen is rumoured to be three years older than officially recognised. is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Remembered for his rivalry with Haile Gebrselassie, Komen's most notable achievement ...

in Hechtel, Belgium on 19 July 1997. The women's record is 8:58.58, set by

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

n Meseret Defar in Brussels, Belgium on 14 September 2007. Komen is the only person to run the distance in under 8 minutes, and thus run two miles at a

four-minute mile A four-minute mile is the completion of a mile run (1609 m) in four minutes or less. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister, at age 25, in 3:59.4. As of April 2021, the "four-minute barrier" has been broken by 1,663 athletes, and is n ...

pace.

All-time top 25

*i = indoor performance *mx = mixed race

Men

*Correct as of August 2021.

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 8:07.46: *

also ran 7:58.91 (1998), 8:03.54 (1996). *

Haile Gebrselassie Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...

also ran 8:01.72 (1999), 8:01.86 (1999), 8:07.46 (1995).

Women

*Correct as of August 2021.

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 9:13.27: *

Francine Niyonsaba Francine Niyonsaba (born May 5, 1993) is a Burundian runner, who specialized in the 800 metres and shifted to longer distances in 2019. She was the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist in the women's 800 metres. Her silver medal was the first Olymp ...

also ran 9:00.75 (2021). * Meseret Defar also ran 9:06.26i (2009), 9:10.47 (2007), 9:10.50i (2008). *

Mercy Cherono Mercy Cherono Koech (born 7 May 1991) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the silver medalist in the 5000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. She is a two-time world junior champion in the 3000 metres (200 ...

also ran 9:13.27 (2014).

World Record Progression

Men

Outdoors

Indoors

Women

Outdoors

Indoors

High school boys progression

Note: this list only covers boys because the history of 2 mile running largely occurred before

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

, before high school girls were allowed to compete, which occurred about the same time as conversion to metric distances.

Notes

External links

World Record progression in men's running events
* ttp://www.alltime-athletics.com/w2milesok.htm Track and Field all-time Performances Homepage – Women's 2 miles {{Athletics events Events in track and field Middle-distance running

All-time top 25

Men

Notes

Women

Notes

World Record Progression

Men

Outdoors

Indoors

Women

Outdoors

Indoors

High school boys progression

See also

Notes

External links