--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It had always been a British…" description: "\"It had always been a British preoccupation to hold this mile record.\" — Roger Bannister" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/roger-bannister-11572_athlete_it-had-always-been-a-british-preoccupati_2477034.png" --- # It had always been a British preoccupation to hold this… ![“It had always been a British preoccupation to hold this mile record.” quote by Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/roger-bannister-11572_athlete_it-had-always-been-a-british-preoccupati_2477034.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/roger-bannister-11572_athlete_it-had-always-been-a-british-preoccupati_2477034.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9d7/roger-bannister-11572_athlete_it-had-always-been-a-british-preoccupati_2477034.png) > “It had always been a British preoccupation to hold this mile record.” [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Britain historically valued holding the mile running record, reflecting national pride in athletic achievement. **In simple terms:** Britain prized the mile record as a national achievement. Key Takeaway Value national achievements in sport. Themes sports national pride history Mood proud nostalgic Type historical motivational When to use this quote - training - competition - media coverage Key Concepts Athletics record‑keeping Questions to Reflect On - Why do societies celebrate specific sports records? - How does national pride influence athletes? A Different Perspective Focus on one event may overlook broader athletic contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Athlete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athlete/) [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [British Preoccupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-preoccupation-821668/) [Hold Mile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold-mile-821669/) [Mile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mile/) [Mile Record](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mile-record-821667/) [Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles/) [Preoccupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preoccupation/) [Record](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/record/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) ## Related quotes > [I had on my team a girl who at age twelve just missed the world mile record for her age group. But at 20…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-lindgren/i-had-on-my-team-a-girl-who-at-age-twelve-just-missed-the-world-mile/) [Gerry Lindgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-lindgren/) > [The mile has all the elements of a drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/the-mile-has-all-the-elements-of-a-drama/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [I found longer races boring. I found the mile just perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/i-found-longer-races-boring-i-found-the-mile-just-perfect/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [There are never any traffic jams on the extra mile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/there-are-never-any-traffic-jams-on-the-extra-mile/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [I find painting a much slower process than comedy, where you can go a mile a minute verbally and hope to God that some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-winters/i-find-painting-a-much-slower-process-than-comedy-where-you-can-go-a/) [Jonathan Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-winters/) > [You've either got or you haven't got style, and if you've got it you stand out a mile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sinatra/you-ve-either-got-or-you-haven-t-got-style-and-if-you-ve-got-it-you/) [Frank Sinatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sinatra/) > [7 Mile is like an Ave. Back in the days it was poppin' in the summer time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/obie-trice/7-mile-is-like-an-ave-back-in-the-days-it-was-poppin-in-the-summer/) [Obie Trice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/obie-trice/) > [You have to run 75 to 100 miles a week if you expect to break the four-minute mile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-h-cooper/you-have-to-run-75-to-100-miles-a-week-if-you-expect-to-break-the/) [Kenneth H. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-h-cooper/) > [Blink and you miss a sprint. The 10,000 meters is lap after lap of waiting. Theatrically, the mile is just the right length: beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-coe/blink-and-you-miss-a-sprint-the-10-000-meters-is-lap-after-lap-of/) [Sebastian Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-coe/) > [I have a map of the united states … it's original size ... it says one mile equals one mile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-have-a-map-of-the-united-states-it-s-original-size-it-says-one-mile/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Being on a set where the director has lost control is just sickening. No one goes the extra mile, theres a lot of eye-rolling...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-vachon/being-on-a-set-where-the-director-has-lost-control-is-just-sickening/) [Christine Vachon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-vachon/) > [My fastest time in high school was a 4:29 mile. I think cross-country has something to do with my longevity in my business. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/my-fastest-time-in-high-school-was-a-4-29-mile-i-think-cross-country/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [Every mile marker can be met with some measure of trepidation, in a race or in life. Am I on target? Do I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-armstrong/every-mile-marker-can-be-met-with-some-measure-of-trepidation-in-a/) [Kristin Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-armstrong/) > [May is a very early time in the year and the weather is usually bad. You cannot run a fast mile race if there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/may-is-a-very-early-time-in-the-year-and-the-weather-is-usually-bad/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [Doctors and scientists said breaking the four-minute mile was impossible, that one would die in the attempt. Thus, when I got up from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/doctors-and-scientists-said-breaking-the-four-minute-mile-was/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) ## More by Roger Bannister > [Our concept of a family holiday was going to a guest house in the Lake district or Wales where walking was part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/our-concept-of-a-family-holiday-was-going-to-a-guest-house-in-the/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [Mothers, unless they were very poor, didn't work. Both of my parents had to leave education. My mother had to work in a cotton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/mothers-unless-they-were-very-poor-didn-t-work-both-of-my-parents-had/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [My concentration was really on getting to university and becoming a doctor. My parents let me know that school marks were important. Achievement was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/my-concentration-was-really-on-getting-to-university-and-becoming-a/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [If there was the opportunity to climb a mountain, or to go ballooning, or some adventurous activity, I would always be keen to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/if-there-was-the-opportunity-to-climb-a-mountain-or-to-go-ballooning/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [Sport is not about being wrapped up in cotton wool. Sport as about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/sport-is-not-about-being-wrapped-up-in-cotton-wool-sport-as-about/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [The mile has all the elements of a drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/the-mile-has-all-the-elements-of-a-drama/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [May is a very early time in the year and the weather is usually bad. You cannot run a fast mile race if there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/may-is-a-very-early-time-in-the-year-and-the-weather-is-usually-bad/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [My family actually lived in the same village for about 400 years. They had great stability until the last century. People lived and intermarried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/my-family-actually-lived-in-the-same-village-for-about-400-years-they/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [The human spirit is indomitable. No one can ever say you must not run faster than this or jump higher than that. There will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/the-human-spirit-is-indomitable-no-one-can-ever-say-you-must-not-run/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [Doctors and scientists said breaking the four-minute mile was impossible, that one would die in the attempt. Thus, when I got up from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/doctors-and-scientists-said-breaking-the-four-minute-mile-was/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [Beating John Landy was my defining race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/beating-john-landy-was-my-defining-race/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [I had always wanted to become a neurologist, which is one of the most demanding vocations in medicine. Where do you stop, after all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/i-had-always-wanted-to-become-a-neurologist-which-is-one-of-the-most/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/the-man-who-can-drive-himself-further-once-the-effort-gets-painful-is/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [I was playing rugby and the other games English school children do, and there was an event in which races were run, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/i-was-playing-rugby-and-the-other-games-english-school-children-do/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [If a man coaches himself, then he has only himself to blame when he is beaten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/if-a-man-coaches-himself-then-he-has-only-himself-to-blame-when-he-is/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) [Explore all 59 Roger Bannister quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) ## More Athlete quotes > [As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-de-la-hoya/as-a-professional-athlete-and-someone-who-has-spent-almost-his-entire/) [Oscar De La Hoya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-de-la-hoya/) > [I'd noticed him watching me for a year or so, especially when we'd play games where there was running or jumping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/i-d-noticed-him-watching-me-for-a-year-or-so-especially-when-we-d/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I have no physical genius about me. 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