The Mile World Record Has Stood Since 1999. Josh Kerr Is Going to Try to Take It Down.

Josh Kerr has the world titles. Now, he’s ready to etch his name in the history books alongside one of the most storied world records in track and field: the mile. On July 18 at the London Diamond League meeting, the Scotsman will chase 3:43.13 for the full mile. The world record mark was memorably set by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco at the 1999 Golden Gala in Rome, Italy, with his Olympic rival Noah Ngeny of Kenya also running under the previous record in 3:43.40. El Guerrouj is also the world record holder in the 1500 meters, running 3:26.00 in 1998. The historic records are almost as old as Kerr himself, who turns 29 later this year. “It’s one of the most important track and field records of all time right now,” Kerr said to Runner’s World. “I’m not trying to do this quietly, because I think it deserves more respect than that. I’m at a point in my career where I have some great medals, I’m able to show up consistently when I need to, and I have amazing coaching staff and people around me that I think we can get pretty damn close if we’re not going to be getting it. It’s time to call my shot and try and create that moment for track and field.” The 28-year-old Scotsman, who represents the Brooks Beasts, won his third world title this past weekend and second in the 3,000-meter distance. He’s stacked up a solid professional resume over the past decade specializing in the 1500m, a crowded event packed with international talent: 2021 Olympic bronze, 2024 Olympic silver, and 2023 World Championships gold. He is working with Brooks to build a custom race spike and speedsuit crafted to his own unique specifications, to optimize his performance on race day. The effort is not unlike Nike’s Breaking4 campaign last summer centered around Faith Kipyegon’s sub-4 minute mile attempt, or the Breaking2 attempt following Eliud Kipchoge’s exhibition marathon. The difference for Kerr and Brooks is that their record attempt will take place in a real race with legal, World Athletics-approved equipment. The team has one more round of testing for the spike, which will occur in the next month or so as Brooks keys in on customizing footwear specifically for Kerr’s power-to-weight ratio and footstrike patterns while running 55-second quarter speed. “There were a few non-negotiables for me,” Kerr says. “It needs to be a legal attempt, not a time trial. That was number one. Second, it needs to be in the U.K. And third, I wanted to commit my season around it because this isn’t a record that you can steal. It’s one that has stood the test of time and there’s a reason for that. It’s such a difficult record to get and I have a lot of respect for that.” The 2026 season represents a unique proposition for a record attempt, as there is no Olympic Games or World Championships to peak for. World Athletics has devised a new event for this year called the Ultimate Championship, an invitation-only meeting which will take place in September, but it does not rank at the top of Kerr’s list for now. “I don’t know if I’ll make it to September,” he says. “We’re treating this like our Olympic Games.” Ideally, he says, he will be able to roll into Commonwealth Games and European Championships after the London Diamond League in top condition but the record attempt itself is his top priority for the year. The world record has been a lifelong dream for him, and was part of his initial recruiting conversation with Brooks Beasts head coach Danny Mackey seven years ago. Last September, he limped across the line in last place at the World Athletics Championships with a grade two calf tear. Kerr says rehab went smoothly, and he felt ready by November to map out a world record assault for 2026. “At your lowest moments, you find pretty incredible motivation,” he says. “Everything’s on track at this point.” Mackey will need to figure out how to cut more than two seconds off his star runner’s best mile time of 3:45.34, which he ran to win the Bowerman Mile at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic and set the British record. On the roads, he’s raced slightly faster, clocking 3:44.3 to break the 43-year-old 5th Avenue Mile record in 2024. Kerr likely won’t be alone in his quest to rewrite history. Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who already owns five world records and world bests and has also announced his own intentions of breaking the world standards for not only the mile, but the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters this year. He is currently regaining fitness after recovering from surgery in the fall to repair a longtime Achilles surgery. Ingebrigtsen has come the closest to El Guerrouj in the modern era, clocking 3:43.73 to win the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic in 2023, also leading Yared Nuguse of the United States under 3:44 in 3:43.97. He’s also fourth on the all-time list in the 1500 meters with his best of 3:26.73, three-quarters of a second off that world record. Other potential challengers include two-time Olympic champion Cole Hocker of the United States, who has run 3:27 for 1500 meters; Phanuel Koech, who ran 3:27 to break the Under-20 world record last year; and Niels Laros of the Netherlands, who has run 3:45.94. Of course, there’s also another Moroccan who could spoil the party in Azeddine Habz, who has run 3:46.65 for the mile and 3:27.49 for the 1500m. “Maybe it’s on other people’s radars to go after these records, and maybe they’re taking it just as seriously as me and maybe they have the backing and they’re doing the exact same thing and about to announce it sometime this week … but that’s not my job to analyze,” Kerr says. “Whatever the world record is when I arrive on July 18, I think I can run faster than that. That’s who I am. That’s the way I like to run my career. I was built for these moments and I’m going to continue to show the track and field world that’s who I am.” Johanna Gretschel is a freelance writer and broadcaster living in Austin, Texas, who has covered elite track and field and running in all its forms. She contributes to Runner’s World, ESPN, Austin American-Statesman, FloTrack, MileSplit, Women’s Running and Podium Runner. Yes, she has run a marathon!