Burns Attempting 4min. Mile

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31289, 8 February 1967, Page 15

Burns Attempting 4min. Mile

The 21 - year - old Otago runner, B. Burns, will attempt to break the four-minute mile barrier during the international athletic meeting at Rugby Park this evening. And if he succeeds, it will be the first time the feat has been achieved in Canterbury.

Bums recently ran 4min o.Bsec in the Dunedin Festival mile and believes that he will run at least 3min 58sec this season if he strikes good running conditions. I This evening he will have

some exceptionally strong competition from the visiting Australian, K. O’Brien, holder of the Commonwealth 3000 metres steeplechase record. O’Brien has a best mile time of 4min 2.7 sec.

Most of Canterbury’s top milers will be in the field. J. D. Macdonald (Riccarton), who won his seventh Canterbury steeplechase title last Saturday, and S. McLean (Toe H), who has blossomed into a top-class miler this season, should both be in at the finish. However, the success of the attempt on the four-minute mile barrier will depend on the willingness of the Canterbury runners to set an exceptionally fast pace over the first two laps. This would rob them of any chance of win-

ning but victory in a race of this kind should be of secondary importance. If Burns has to run the whole distance on his own, it is unlikely that he will get below four minutes. He is still undecided whether to concentrate on the mile or half-mile in the forthcoming New Zealand championships. The outcome of this evening’s race will undoubtedly have a bearing on his final decision. Tayler To Try Again

In the junior mile, a special attempt on the New Zealand record of 4min 7.3 sec will be made by the South Canterbury runner, R. Tayler. His last attempt at Rugby Park was thwarted by a strong wind but he managed to lower the

Canterbury record to 4min 11.5 sec with a particularly fine run.

There is the prospect of another Canterbury record in the two miles in which the Australian, I. Blackwood, will meet New Zealand’s gold medalist in the Commonwealth Games 3000 metres steeplechase, R. P. Welsh (Otago). Interest will also be high in the performance of the holder of the Canterbury twomile record, B. Dyer (Christchurch), and the present Canterbury three-mile champion, B. R. Jones (University). They will ensure that a good pace is maintained in the early stages. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.