Cal Track & Field: Miler Garrett MacQuiddy Joins The Exclusive Sub-4 Club

The junior became the 10th Golden Bears runner and 713th American ever to break the barrier.

It’s unclear exactly how many people — now and in the past — have ever lived in the United States. But demographers estimate it to be somewhat more than 500 million.

Among that mass of humanity, only slightly more than 700 Americans have ever run the mile in under 4 minutes.

Cal junior Garrett MacQuiddy can now count himself among them. “Exclusive club, I think,” he says.

MacQuiddy is the 10th Cal runner to do it — the first in seven years — and the 713th American overall to break the barrier considered out of reach until Great Britain’s Roger Bannister ran 3:59.4 on May 6, 1954 at the Iffley Road track in Oxford.

Three years later, Cal’s Don Bowden became the first American to get there, clocking 3:58.7 at Stockton, Calif., on June 1, 1957.

MacQuiddy said his grandparents, both Cal alums, texted him after his race, saying they were in high school when Bowden broke the barrier. “To be the first American had to be pretty special for Bowden,” he said.

“It was a big deal back then,” MacQuiddy says in the video at the top of this story. "It’s still a big deal now.”

Certainly it was to him. Two Saturdays ago at the Husky Classic on the Dempsey Indoor track in Seattle, MacQuiddy crossed the line in 3:59.96 — breaking the barrier with 0.04 seconds to spare.

Garrett MacQuiddy sprints to the finish line in Seattle / Photo by Caden Carney, WestCoastXC

“Coming down the last straight, about 80 meters away, I saw 3:51 on the clock. I knew I had a shot at it but I knew it would be close,” he said. “As I was coming down the stretch, I was watching the clock and running. I’m looking at the clock but trying to remember I’ve got to keep running fast or I’m not going to make it.

“When I crossed the line I didn’t have any clue. No one in the facility knew — we knew it was close. The announcer said, `Everybody watch the clock.’ It took a while for (the time) to pop up. It felt like minutes my head, it was probably 10-15 seconds. The time popped up and I shouted and I was really happy.”

MacQuiddy’s parents, Stephen and Jennifer, made the trip from the South Bay to watch their son go for it, and his sixth-grade math teacher, now living in Seattle, also was on hand.

“My mom was probably screaming louder than I was at the finish,” MacQuiddy said. “Then got big hugs from all of them afterward.”

MacQuiddy must run quite a bit faster still in order to secure one of 16 spots in the NCAA indoor nationals, March 10-11 at Albuquerque, N.M. Eighteen collegiate runners — eight of them from Pac-12 schools — have broken 3:56 already this indoor season.

He’ll get one more opportunity in a return trip to Seattle for the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite this Saturday.

MacQuiddy’s goal?

"I’d say, obviously, most realistically, going for a PR, going for the fastest I’ve ever run. So a little bit more under 4,” he explains in the video above. “I’d definitely be really happy if I were to get the (indoor) school record.”

That mark is 3:58.36 by Mark Matusak in 2010.

“If I were to get both of those, I’d want to have a spot at nationals,” he said, “but that will be a little tough given how fast the field is this year.”

He believes corrections he makes in his race can slice maybe 2 more seconds off his best, and he said having as many as a half-dozen runners with faster times in his heat should help him.

“Definitely be a good crew in that race for people that are similar to me looking for a nationals berth. I’m hoping and knowing they’re going to be dragging me to a fast time.”

In any case, his folks will make the trip north again, so MacQuiddy has extra motivation to run fast.

“Got to make it worth it this time as well,” he said. “The bar is a little higher, obviously.”

Cover photo of Garrett MacQuiddy celebrating his race by Caden Carney, WestCoastXC

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo