Josh Kerr is trying to take down a living legend and believes everything is falling into place in his mile world-record bid.
Never shy of setting lofty goals, the former 1500m world champion and double Olympic medallist has his sights on one of athletics’ most iconic records: Hicham El Gerrouj’s 27-year-old mark.
At the London Stadium, he believes he can dip under 3:43.13 in front of what is expected to be a capacity 60,000 crowd for the Wanda Diamond League event in London.
He has been meticulous in his preparation, ice baths lasting exactly three minutes and 42 seconds, an altitude room in his Albuquerque home, and even flying out his parents to the States for the final stretch before the record attempt.
And with a dream build-up, he is confident the record can fall.
“I’m not a bettor myself, but it’s in my favour,” he said. “My body is capable of the mark, so my job is to have my mind be available to let my body do the job.
“I’m trying to do something that no one’s ever done. There’s definitely a risk of failure, but it’s not something that’s on my mind particularly often. I’m going out there, I’ve had the best camp I’ve ever had in my life, I’ve been able to live a life that I’ve always wanted to live over the last six months in pursuit of this. It’s been focused. It’s been surrounded by amazing people, and I’ve already won that fight.”
The fear of failure can inhibit some, as England’s footballers and their manager can attest, but Kerr has never been one to go into his shell.
Some in his team were not entirely convinced by the decision to announce this world-record attempt so far out – he first revealed his Project 222 (the number of seconds required to break it) all the way back in March.
But Kerr is not only one of the greatest middle-distance runners of his generation, he also understands athletics’ place in the sporting landscape and the need to fight for coverage.
Previously that involved a lively war of words with Norwegian rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Now it sees him go after a quintessentially British record.
From Roger Bannister’s first sub four-minute mile in 1954 to the back-and-forth between Seb Coe and Steve Ovett, the mile has extra resonance in British athletics, and Kerr believes that he is ready to restore the world record to its spiritual home.
He added: “There’s different breeds of people. As an athlete, I’m not scared of failing. It’s not something that I was born with. I’m on the attack at all times, and I’m bold with what I talk about.
“But when the figures and the stats behind me are backing up my claims, I don’t see why I can’t go out there and do what my job is.”
Kerr was not the only Brit hoping to break a world record in London, with Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson tipped by some to take down Jarmila Kratochvila’s even-older mark when she was crowned world indoor champion back in March. The Czech athlete ran 1:53.28 in 1983, making it the oldest world record in athletics.
But while Hodgkinson has set a British record this season, she is still searching for a first outdoor win over 800m after defeats in Stockholm and Eugene, the latter coming with bashed-up knees after a nasty fall in training.
She explained: “I’m definitely better than I was heading into [the] Prefontaine [Classic in Eugene], when I had a fight with a metal grate.
“I was just cooling down after my race. There was a metal mesh on the floor to stop people slipping, and there was a corner sticking up. I tripped up and my knees went straight into it. It took chunks out of both knees, it wasn’t pretty at all.
“It’s probably given me a bit of perspective. Sometimes it’s just about enjoying it, relaxing and having fun. That’s when I perform at my best. I just want to run freely and see what happens.”