60 Years Ago Today: Former UNC track star Jim Beatty runs the first indoor sub-4:00 mile

Posted Feb 10, 2022
Jim Beatty, the NCAA 2M/5000 runner-up as a soph and junior at UNC, had run a 4:06.5 mile as a senior in 1956 but hadn’t run a step in 2½ years. He finally got the nerve to call his college mentor, Dale Ranson, to whom he posed two questions: "Do I still have what it takes to make the Olympic team, and can I come to Chapel Hill and have you coach me?" (Track And Field News)

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