Jim and Anne Ryun interview, 10/8/26

22 hours ago

2 min read

Updated: 19 hours ago

Contributor: The Nerd

The Nebraska Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is hosting a free cross country clinic for athletes, coaches and running fans on Saturday, October 24 from 1:00-4:00 at Bellevue University. The keynote presentation will be delivered by Jim and Anne Ryun. Registration is at https://fca.regfox.com/2026omahaxcclinic.

Jim Ryun is a Wichita native who became the first American high schooler to break the four-minute mile barrier. He first ran 3:59.0 as a junior, and then 3:55.30 as a senior to win the AAU Championship ahead of Olympic gold medalist Peter Snell. He set the world record of 1:44.9 in the half-mile and 3:51.3 in the mile as a 19-year-old, and he won the NCAA indoor and outdoor mile four times while at KU. He competed in the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics, winning silver in the 1500 in 1968. After a post-competitive career that included hosting camps and giving motivational speeches, Jim served in the US House of Representatives from 1996 to 2006.

In preparation for his visit to Nebraska, I had the opportunity to interview Jim and Anne on October 8th. I expected the interview to last 30 minutes but, to be safe, I sent them a calendar request for an hour; they were so entertaining that the recorded interview lasted almost 75 minutes. We discussed:

Why Jim became a distance runner;
How, after less than nine months of running, Jim's high school coach decided that Jim was capable of running a a sub-four-minute mile before he graduated;
How Jim snubbed Anne the first time she tried to meet him (despite patiently waiting for three hours);
His experiences at the Olympic Trials and Olympics;
His most memorable races and what they taught him;
His brief training partnership with Steve Prefontaine;
His belief in the American experiment;
The Christian-based running camps he's hosted for 52 years;
The freedom and peace he felt once he moved from following the 'rules' of Christianity to letting Jesus in his life.

As you might imagine from his appearance at the FCA clinic, Jim's Christian faith has been an important of his life. The cross country clinic will also include presentations by former D2 athlete Aaron Yoder, former UNO runner Lily Jackson, and triathlete Lincoln Murdoch. Admission is free but pre-registration at this link is required so the event has adequate seating.

If you're interested in the Ryun Running camp after listening to the interview, you can find more information at https://ryunrunning.com/.

I've included audio and video links below. If you have the chance to watch the video, you'll be overwhelmed by the vibrancy of a man who set his first world record sixty years ago.