<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is it\u2019s so fast,\u201d Danny Mackey says with a nervous laugh.<\/p>\n
Mackey has spent the last eight months building up Olympic 1500-metre silver medalist Josh Kerr for his mile world-record attempt at the London Diamond League this Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s weird is that he called it and is doing it in an actual race,\u201d Mackey, who has coached the Briton since he turned professional in 2018, adds. \u201cThat\u2019s not something that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kerr is using the rare opportunity of a year without a global championship \u2014 the last off-season was the Covid-affected 2020, and there won\u2019t be another until 2030 \u2014 to try and beat the three minutes, 43.13 seconds run by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999, a time that has stood longer than any previous men\u2019s mile world record.<\/p>\n
\u2018Project 222\u2019 is how this record attempt has been billed, and it is based on the number of seconds the 28-year-old wants to run the mile (equating to 3:42s). To support the Briton, there has been plenty of research, testing and product development.<\/p>\n
The Athletic<\/em> spoke to multiple people to understand the science behind Kerr\u2019s world record attempt:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to deliver just as much as Josh,\u201d says Orr, who spent 15 years at New Balance before he joined Brooks last June. Just five months later, Kerr pitched his record-breaking idea.<\/p>\n Since foregoing his final year of NCAA eligibility and turning professional, Kerr has been a Brooks athlete, allowing the brand to build nearly a decade of data explaining how he runs.<\/p>\n Kerr has won Olympic and world championship medals running in non-personalised Brooks spikes. For Saturday\u2019s attempt, the approach has been different.<\/p>\n Orr explains their thought process: \u201cThere are opportunities to make marginal gains: put a new (foam) formula, change the plate or the pins. But we\u2019re building something from the ground up, reinventing the way we think about this type of product and trying to be led by Josh and the data.\u201d<\/p>\n The process? A lot of computational modelling, in-the-lab and on-the-track testing, and multiple prototypes.<\/p>\n The result? A one-of-one spike built for Kerr and his biomechanics, which Orr says is \u201coptimised\u201d for this race. It is built to go at 55.5 seconds per 400m, the speed that Kerr needs to hold for four laps to knock at least 2.22 seconds off his PB and beat El Guerrouj.<\/p>\n\n
The technology: Bespoke spikes and speed suit\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n