After running the fastest mile in history, Josh Kerr struggled with a much more mundane task that night: sleep.
“The mind was preoccupied with future planning and race analysis,” he said.
There was plenty to chew on.
On Saturday night, Kerr celebrated the world record with his first pint since getting married in December, surrounded by people who had “a massive hand in what we did,” including his Brooks Beasts team.
Kerr woke up — from whatever sleep he was able to get — before dawn on Sunday. He squeezed in a six-mile run around London before his 6-to-7 a.m. drug-testing window.
“It was definitely slow,” Kerr said. “But, yeah, not many people out there.”
Kerr, when asked the most interesting behind-the-scenes moment of the lead-up, race day and morning after, pointed to interactions at the 2012 Olympic Stadium.
“The three to five seconds I’m having with some of these younger athletes that say, ‘I want to run the mile next. I’m going to take that mile world record off you in 10 years’ time, in 20 years’ time,’” he said. “These are awesome conversations to be having and buzzing around the UK. That’s what I’m looking to do is have those conversations and those little moments with an athlete, and in 10 years’ time, 50 years’ time, I have an athlete doing their speeches and their thank-yous to everyone, and I want one of them to say, at some point, ‘I was in the stadium. This is where I was during that time.’”
May 3, 2025; Miramar, FL, USA; Josh Kerr (GBR) reacts after winning the short distance title during the Grand Slam Track Miami at Ansin Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Kerr, a 28-year-old Scot and NCAA champion at the University of New Mexico, added the world record to pro accolades that also includes in the 1500m an Olympic bronze medal in 2021, a world title in 2023 and an Olympic silver medal in 2024.
He said it’s difficult to pick a favorite.
“They all have such significance to me,” he said. “The thing is about the Olympic Games, it is the pinnacle of our sport. Being able to show up to both of my Olympic Games, coming away with some hardware is showing that I’m great at the right occasion. If this world record was just at a random event that I didn’t tell anyone I was going for it, I think it might be a little bit further down the list. But I think this pops right to the top of the list right now, to be honest. It’s the most effect I’ve ever had on this sport, and etching my name in history. Regardless of when it gets taken off me, or if I better the mark myself, this is my first-ever proper official world record. That’s a first like no other. The crowd last night were electric, and I’ve done something that no other person in the history of the universe has ever done.”
Kerr can add another significant achievement next week. He’s set to race the mile at a home Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Asked the biggest goal for the rest of his career, he first mentioned the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Kerr said that if he wants to remembered as the best miler in history, he has to win Olympic 1500m gold.
“I’m missing a very important medal for my set,” he said. “There’s another world record within my distance (1500m) that is something that is important to me as well. But again, I shouldn’t be chasing the shiny thing just because I got what I wanted. I’m not a person that needs to be too greedy in these situations. I have some calm heads around me that know when to pull the plug on things and when we’ve pushed the body a little bit too far. So I will be honest with it, and I want to run with this momentum as well as I can. But the body might not be capable of those marks quite yet.”
