The 2024 season saw the emergence of Kenny Bednarek as one of the potential contenders for being the fastest person. Not only did he perform well at the Olympics, but he also earned himself a popular vote from the public for keeping it real through and through. Although his current expertise is limited to short-distance running, he might have hinted at other attempts recently.
In an Instagram story teaser for an upcoming podcast with Dominic Schlueter, one of the subjects Bednarek addressed was a chance to attempt long-distance running.
The host asked him if he ever considered running a mile, and if so, how fast he could go. Although the sprinter initially claimed that he never attempted a long-distance run, he recalled an anecdote related to it.
It turns out that during one of his practice sessions, Bednarek’s teammates challenged him to a five-minute mile run. He recounted how he hadn’t even stretched and had just woken up to go straight to the track at that point.
However, the adrenaline was high, and he agreed to attempt the mile-long run with as much speed and endurance as he could muster up.
“This is me just waking up without stretching or anything. And I was like, ‘I guess I’m in. Let me do it’.”
Despite the lack of warm-up and appropriate prep needed to sprint a mile, Bednarek recalled how the challenge fuelled him enough.
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Generally, elite sprinters like him could gather enough speed and strength to power through a mile within five minutes, while other average sprinters could take up to eight minutes.
However, that would require a lot of practice and strategy to distribute the amount of energy throughout progressive distances.
For Bednarek, this was his first-ever rookie attempt at a mile, without prep or appropriate warm-up at that. However, he managed to clock in at around 5:55, which was a commendable feat for his first attempt.
“I was like, ‘well you know, this is earlier in the year…so running that, I actually take that’.”
Now that he knew he could take a chance and gamble with long-distance running as well, Bednarek revealed how he has improved his timing ever since. He now clocks in at 5:30 and still has the potential to go lower and complete a mile in under five minutes if he prepares well.
The sprinting season isn’t over yet, and several competitions and meets, including the Diamond League, are lining up. Bednarek still has the chance to show his prowess by pushing through these championships and creating a good record.
