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Sir Roger Bannister. Jim Ryun. Steve Prefontaine. Matt Lane. Pat Tarpy.
What do they all have in common?
They have all broken the most sought-after standard in running: The four-minute mile.
Yarmouth native Tarpy accomplished the feat on his 25th birthday at Sunday’s KeyBank New England Mile in Portland, blazing down the Congress Street course in 3 minutes, 54.80 seconds, becoming the first Maine runner to break the barrier in his home state.
In addition to cracking four minutes, Tarpy shattered Milford native Dereck Treadwell’s course record of 4:05, which was set last year.
Tarpy was in an illustrious field that included fellow Yarmouth native Lane, the first Maine runner to break four minutes in the mile, who posted a 3:57.57 at the University of Oregon in 2002.
“It was a good field,” said Tarpy, [but] “I anticipated being out on my own.”
Four years prior to Lane’s accomplishment, Jason Pyrah of Missouri ran a 3:56.82 at the Maine Distance Festival at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.
Tarpy, who accomplished the feat on a similar downhill course in New Hampshire in 2005, is thrilled to be included in the same company with runners such as Bannister and Prefontaine, but he feels he needs to take the next step and accomplish the feat on the track.
“It’s cool to say, but until you do it on a track there’s an asterisk next to it,” Tarpy said. “I feel ready to do it on a track.”
That opportunity will come soon, as Tarpy will compete in the 1,500 meters in the USA Outdoor Championships in Indianapolis.
About halfway through Sunday’s race, Tarpy had a good feeling that he was going to break the sub-four barrier.
“They had splits for each quarter, at halfway I was feeling pretty comfortable,” said Tarpy, who ran at Yarmouth High School and Brown University in Providence, R.I., where he was a teammate of former Sumner of East Sullivan star Brendan O’Keefe.
Tarpy now attends graduate school at Providence College, and O’Keefe will join him in the 1,500 at the national championships this weekend.
Ayalew Taye, a former Portland High runner who ran at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts the last two years and who will run at Georgetown this fall, finished second in Sunday’s race in 4:02.85.
Former UMaine stars Gabe Rivard (4:03.75) and Jeff Caron (4:04.80) were fourth and fifth.
On the same day Tarpy accomplished the feat, former Greely of Cumberland Center and current Dartmouth College standout Ben True ran a 3:59.99 at the USA Track and Field New England Outdoor Championships in Cambridge, Mass.
Workin’ it out
Like the summer racing season, the Sub 5 Track Club’s summer training programs are starting to get into full swing.
The club hosts track workouts for runners of all abilities Wednesday evenings at 5:30 at Pendleton Street Field in Brewer.
The weekly workouts range from one-mile repeats to 200- to 400-meter “efficiency reps,” in which a runner attempts to run a fast repetition while focusing on his or her form.
The workouts start with a warm-up jog at 6 p.m., and usually conclude around 7:30.
In addition to the track workouts, group runs of 3 to 5 miles are held Monday nights at 6, starting in Bangor near the Sea Dog Restaurant.
Hunt 3K two weeks away
There is still plenty of time to register for the 27th annual Walter Hunt Memorial Fourth of July 3K.
The race starts at 10:45 a.m. in Brewer, and follows the July 4 parade route into downtown Bangor, finishing at Pickering Square.
The first 250 to sign up receive a T-shirt and registration is $8. Even though pre-registration is encouraged, you can sign up on race day, 8:30-10:15 a.m., at the Brewer Auditorium.
Any questions, contact David Torrey at 989-2584.
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