PROJECT 222 – Is a 3:42 Mile Possible?

Ferenc Soma Kovács, Hungarian national record holder middle-distance runner, NCAA bronze medallist and Harvard-record holder

 

World champion middle-distance runner Josh Kerr recently announced that on July 18, he will attempt to break Hicham El Guerrouj’s legendary world record. The Moroccan’s 3:43.13 mile record has stood for 27 years, and many experts consider it one of the most difficult world records in athletics to break. Kerr is therefore not exaggerating when he describes it as one of the sport’s greatest challenges.

PROJECT 222 also represents Brooks’ first truly large-scale, performance-focused initiative. Its goal extends beyond simply breaking a world record—it aims to demonstrate how modern sports science, equipment development, and data-driven training methods can help push the limits of human performance.

In this article, I’ll take a closer look at the details of Kerr’s record attempt and assess just how realistic his chances are.

It is now widely known that Josh Kerr has worked closely with a sports dietitian for the past seven years. Following his victory at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, he even hired a personal chef who regularly travels with him to races and training camps.

At first glance, this might seem excessive. In reality, however, it illustrates how today’s best middle-distance runners strive to optimize every possible aspect of performance. Proper nutrition not only improves the quality of training but can also significantly accelerate recovery.

Alongside nutrition, sleep plays an equally important role in Kerr’s preparation.

Over the past several years, an increasing body of research has shown that elite endurance performance depends not only on training itself, but equally on recovery. Deep sleep is when much of the body’s hormonal restoration occurs, muscles repair themselves, and the nervous system recovers.

It is therefore no surprise that many elite athletes now use advanced technology to monitor both the quality and quantity of their sleep.

Today, these insights are no longer reserved exclusively for elite athletes.

Features such as Polar Sleep Plus Stages™ and Nightly Recharge™ provide runners with detailed information about how well their bodies have recovered from the previous day’s training. Naturally, breaking a world record requires much more than simply monitoring recovery, but this reflects exactly the same philosophy embraced by Kerr and his team:

what can be measured can also be optimized.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of PROJECT 222 is that it is not built around one revolutionary innovation.

Kerr is not relying on a magical pair of shoes or a single groundbreaking training method. Instead, the project’s strength lies in optimizing countless small details.

The right footwear, optimal body temperature, nutrition, sleep, race pacing, the work of the pacemakers, and the support of a home crowd may each be worth only a few tenths of a second individually.

Together, however, they may be enough to threaten a world record that has stood untouched for nearly three decades.

Personally, I believe the record attempt is realistic.

Josh Kerr currently sits sixth on the all-time mile rankings with a personal best of 3:45.34. He ran that performance in 2023, already demonstrating that he is capable of approaching world-record level.

To break El Guerrouj’s 3:43.13, Kerr will need to improve by more than two seconds over his lifetime best.

At first glance, that may appear to be an enormous margin.

However, at this level, the combination of perfect conditions, an ideal race, and the progress Kerr has made over recent years could be enough to close much of that gap.

Beyond the raw numbers, there is another important factor to consider.

Kerr already knows what it feels like to break a world record.

In 2024, he set the indoor two-mile world record, meaning that the psychological challenge of chasing a global mark is no longer unfamiliar territory.

Alongside his physical preparation, that experience may provide a significant mental advantage.

The only remaining question is whether, on July 18 in London, every small detail will fall perfectly into place.

If it does, there is a very real chance that a world record which has stood untouched for 27 years could finally be under serious threat.