Josh Kerr’s World Record Mile Is A Family Project

Eight days before he lines up in London to attack the oldest record in middle distance running, Josh Kerr has released the most personal episode yet of his Project 222 video series. Asked what the mile world record is and what he plans to take it to, his answer takes four seconds: “3:43.13. And I believe that I can run through 42.”

The attempt comes at the Emsley Carr Mile at the Novuna London Athletics Meet on July 18, where Yared Nuguse has joined the field and Hicham El Guerrouj’s mark has stood since 1999. Kerr’s British record of 3:45.34 sits sixth on the all-time list, and his buildup, from sleeping in an altitude chamber to ripping 4,000 meters at record pace, suggests he means it. The new episode explains where that certainty comes from.

A Rugby House That Produced A Miler

The Kerrs are a rugby family. Kerr’s father played professionally, and his older brother Jake followed the same path. “My brother Jake was a professional rugby player, so we started running to get fit for rugby,” Kerr says in the film, retracing his path through cross country races at eight years old to an Edinburgh track where “pretty much my whole running career started.”

Jake, a year and a half older, gets credit for the edge. “I found a bit of success in running early on and I also had the advantage of being older than Josh,” he says. “So when we competed I did tend to win, which is always a bonus. But Josh was always really good at running, because he was always too close to me.”

Josh’s version is simpler. “If you have a brother everything’s competitive,” he says. “I just want to win.”

His Physio Is His Mom

Kerr’s mother runs a physiotherapy practice in Edinburgh, and her most famous patient never really left her books. “My mom is my physio and she’s the smartest physio I’ve ever met,” Kerr says.

“Both boys got injured, whether it was at rugby or running, and we could kind of patch them up and make sure that they didn’t lose much time,” she says. “I’m lucky that I get to continue to do that.”

Belief, With A Weather Forecast

For all the boldness, the family is clear-eyed about July 18. “He’s going to need the right weather, he’s going to need no wind,” they caution in the film. “There’s still an awful lot that he can’t control for him to beat that record. Records are there for a reason, so they’re difficult to achieve. Whatever the result is, we’re super happy and we’re there for him.”

Kerr says that presence is the point. “When you have the family there, you’re doing it together,” he says, “and it feels like less of an insurmountable task.”