Built for Speed

How do you become one of the fastest people on Earth? For Faith Kipyegon, it’s by running more than 50 miles and strength training for 90 minutes each week—all while getting plenty of rest and recovery.

Kipyegon is an elite runner from Kenya. She has three Olympic gold medals and four World Championship titles. She’s also set three world records! Kipyegon has spent the past year analyzing every aspect of her performance to achieve one goal: running 1 mile in under 4 minutes.

Breaking the 4-minute mile is considered one of the greatest achievements in track and field. British runner Roger Bannister first did it in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds in 1954. Since then, more than 2,000 men have run a sub-4-minute mile. But no woman has.

How do you become one of the fastest people on Earth? That’s what Faith Kipyegon is trying to do. She runs more than 50 miles every week. She also does 90 minutes of strength training. And she gets plenty of rest and recovery time.

Kipyegon is a runner from Kenya. She has three Olympic gold medals. She’s also set three world records! Kipyegon has spent the past year analyzing every part of her performance. Her goal is running 1 mile in under 4 minutes.

Breaking the 4-minute mile is a huge achievement. British runner Roger Bannister first did it in 1954. His time was 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. Since then, more than 2,000 men have run a mile in under 4 minutes. But no woman has.

On June 26, Kipyegon made her most recent attempt at breaking this barrier. She holds the women’s world record of 4 minutes and 7.64 seconds. “I thought, ‘Why not dream outside the box,’ ” she says.

Would Kipyegon be able to shave 7.65 seconds off her record time? It doesn’t sound like much—it’s less time than it will take you to read this paragraph. But thousands of hours of training, scientific research, and custom gear development were devoted to Kipyegon’s goal.

On June 26, Kipyegon tried to break this barrier. She already held the women’s world record of 4 minutes and 7.64 seconds. “I thought, ‘Why not dream outside the box,’ ” she says.

Would Kipyegon be able to shave 7.65 seconds off her time? It doesn’t sound like much. It’s less time than it will take you to read this paragraph! But thousands of hours of training and research went toward Kipyegon’s goal.

Behind every athlete is a great team. Amy Jones Vaterlaus is the vice president of innovation at Nike’s Sport Research Lab. She led the scientific efforts in Kipyegon’s race toward her goal. With a background in mechanical engineering and robotics, Vaterlaus has spent more than 20 years creating new products for athletes. “When I realized I could work with athletes to help them run faster and jump higher—or help people training for their first 5K—I knew I’d found my place,” Vaterlaus says.

Vaterlaus and her team at Nike obsessed over every tiny detail. First, they studied how Kipyegon moves through the air as she runs. They found that reducing drag was critical. Drag is the slowing force created by the air pushing against a body while running.

Behind every athlete is a great team. Amy Jones Vaterlaus is the vice president of innovation at Nike’s Sport Research Lab. She led scientific research to help Kipyegon in her training. Vaterlaus studied engineering and robotics. She has spent more than 20 years creating new products for athletes. “When I realized I could work with athletes to help them run faster and jump higher, I knew I’d found my place,” she says.

Vaterlaus and her team studied every tiny detail. First, they looked at how Kipyegon moves through the air as she runs. They realized they needed to reduce drag. That’s the slowing force of air pushing against someone’s body while they run.

The Nike Team created custom apparel designed to shave off about 0.75 seconds each lap. Kipyegon’s Fly Suit is covered in thousands of tiny bumps called aeronodes. Aeronodes help smooth out turbulent air that can slow a runner down. While refining the design, the Nike team had Kipyegon run in a wind tunnel to see where to place the aeronodes. They tested different configurations to get the air flowing around her just right.

Nike also worked with Kipyegon to develop ultralight sneakers with custom spikes that grab the track. Each shoe weighs only 85 grams. That’s less than a deck of cards! The less mass Kipyegon carries, the faster she can run.

The Nike team created a custom suit for Kipyegon. It’s designed to make each 400-meter lap about 0.75 seconds faster. The suit is covered in thousands of tiny bumps called aeronodes  (EHR-oh-nohdz). They smooth out rough air that can slow a runner down. As they refined the design, the Nike team had Kipyegon run in a wind tunnel. That showed them where to place the aeronodes. They tested different positions until the air flowed around her just right.

Nike also worked with Kipyegon to develop ultralight sneakers. The shoes have custom spikes that keep her from slipping on the track. Each shoe weighs only 85 grams. That’s less than a deck of cards! The less weight Kipyegon carries, the faster she can run.

On June 26, Kipyegon arrived in Stade Sébastien Charléty stadium in Paris, France. This location was picked because it has the perfect combination of temperature, wind, and cloud cover. Plus it’s where Kipyegon had previously set world records in the 5000-meter and 1500-meter races.

Kipyegon stepped up to the start line with her team of 13 pacers. These runners help her stick to her target speed of nearly 15 miles per hour. Kipyegon took a minute to herself. Then she got in her starting position, the gun went off, and Kipyegon was running! She ran the first lap in 60.20 seconds, the second lap in 60.55 seconds, and the third in 60.89 seconds. The crowd cheered as Kipyegon headed into the final stretch, crossing the finish line at 4 minutes and 6.42 seconds. That beat her record by 1.22 seconds!

On June 26, Kipyegon arrived at a stadium in Paris, France. She picked this location because it has the perfect combination of temperature, wind, and clouds. It’s also where she had previously set records in 5000-meter and 1500-meter races.

Kipyegon stepped up to the start line. So did her team of 13 pacers. These runners help her stick to her target speed of nearly 15 miles per hour. Kipyegon took a minute to herself before starting. Then she got in her starting position. The gun went off, and Kipyegon was running! She ran the first lap in 60.20 seconds. The second lap took 60.55 seconds. The third was 60.89 seconds. The crowd cheered as Kipyegon headed into the final stretch. She crossed the finish line at 4 minutes and 6.42 seconds. That beat her record by 1.22 seconds!

Although she didn’t meet her goal of breaking the 4-minute mile last summer, Kipyegon set a new personal best time. It’s the fastest a woman has run a mile in history! Nothing is going to stop Kipyegon from pursuing her goal—or breaking more records. In fact, just nine days after the June 26 event, Kipyegon set a new world record in the 1500-meter race!

“It was tough, but I am so proud of what I’ve done, and I’m going to keep on trying, dreaming, and pursuing big goals,” Kipyegon says. “I want to show the world, and especially women, that you have to dare to try.”

Kipyegon didn’t break the 4-minute mile last summer. But she did set a new personal best time—the fastest a woman has ever run a mile! Kipyegon doesn’t plan to stop pursuing her goal. And just nine days after the June 26 event, she set a new world record in the 1,500-meter race!

“It was tough, but I am so proud of what I’ve done,” says Kipyegon. “I’m going to keep on trying, dreaming, and pursuing big goals. I want to show the world, and especially women, that you have to dare to try.”