On June 26 at Stade Charlety in Paris, Olympian Faith Kipyegon aims to become the first woman to run a sub-four-minute mile. Kipyegon is the current world-record holder for the mile for women, which she ran in 4:07.64 in 2023.
This challenge is more than a mere spectacle, according to Emily Kraus, director of the Female Athlete Science and Translational Research (FASTR) Program at the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance at Stanford.
“Faith’s attempt sheds an incredible spotlight on women in sport and what’s truly possible,” said Kraus. “For decades, the health and performance of women athletes have been understudied, underfunded, and undervalued. Efforts like this directly challenge outdated ideas about what women’s bodies can do.”
Kipyegon’s run is also an opportunity to advance products, training, and scientific insights about women’s physiology, added Kraus.
To learn more about Kipyegon’s ambitious pursuit and the science of running, Stanford Report asked Kraus four questions.
Emily Kraus | Matthew Sharkey
1. What kinds of things limit how fast people can run?
Running speed is mainly driven by physiology, including aerobic power, lactate threshold, and running economy, which includes muscle-tendon stiffness and technique/form. Beyond physiology, muscular input or power for the final kick, thermoregulation, altitude, and technology all push – or limit – the performance envelope.
This run will use pacesetters, which can offer environmental and psychological benefits. Tucking behind two pacers can cut frontal drag by ~33%, lowering oxygen cost by ~6% at race speed. Pacers can also take away the cognitive load of thinking about splits. Faith can focus on running strong and steady.
2. How do people keep breaking records?
Progress is from a few different factors:
Deeper talent pools: There are more women and more nations participating in the sport than ever before.
More sophisticated training: Examples include altitude camps and individualized nutrition. Elite athletes also benefit now from sports-science periodization, which is strategic, cyclical variations in training that consider long-term success.
Technological advancements: Examples of this for running are tracks that return more energy, carbon-plated “super shoes” that improve economy up to 4%, and laser pacing lights that keep splits exact.
Data-driven coaching: Monitoring heart rate variability, lactate levels, and using force-plate measurements all minimize over-training and let athletes arrive fresh to accomplish their biggest goals.
3. Kipyegon has to shave 8 seconds off her world record – isn’t that pretty easy?
Eight seconds may sound easy until you run the math: 4:07.64 to 3:59.99 is a 3.2 % improvement. At the sharp end of elite sport, year-to-year gains are usually <1%. For Faith, every second equals about 7m on the track, so closing that gap demands perfect conditions, pacing, physiology, and technology.
4. Why haven’t women run a sub-four-minute mile yet?
Participation gap: The depth in women’s middle-distance was thin; fewer girls in the pipeline means fewer chances to perform at the highest, record-breaking level.
Physiological ceiling and resources: Women’s average oxygen consumption during exercise is ~10% lower than men’s, so women have to rely more heavily on running economy and tactical efficiency. And until recently, research, shoes, and apparel were designed for males, leaving performance gains on the table.
This isn’t just about breaking four minutes. It’s about breaking down more barriers for women in every lane, from the track to the research setting to daily life.
For more information
Kraus is a clinical assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery in the Stanford School of Medicine. She is also a member of the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance and the Maternal & Child Health Research Institute.
Writer
Taylor Kubota
