Grant Fisher of Grand Blanc, Mich. became the seventh prep in history to break four minutes in the mile on Thursday night at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis, Missouri.
Sorry, Fisher fans.
The secret is that there is no secret.
In an exclusive interview with the four-time national champion's private coach, Mike Scannell, MileSplit got bits and pieces of Fisher's regular training routine. But no split times or tempo paces.
"He runs a lot slower than you might think," Scannell said. "I don't say times because as soon as you put that on the internet, kids go and see it and think that's what they need to do.
"There's no secret formula."
Not even sub-four minute miler Matthew Maton, who became just the sixth prep in history to eclipse the elusive barrier in April, has captured the national imagination the way that Grant Fisher has intrigued the public over the past two years.
Part of it is a nearly flawless record. The Grand Blanc, Mich. senior, headed to Stanford next year, has not lost a high school race since 2013. That track record encompasses an impressive range - he has won two national titles in the mile as well as back-to-back Foot Locker National Cross Country crowns. But can he be considered truly great if his stats still read 4:01 after graduation, especially now that Maton beat him to the task?
Fisher himself was unavailable for comment on this story, as he travelled to the Festival of Miles in St. Louis, Mo. On Thursday night, he will race the Men's Professional Mile versus Jordan McNamara, the defending champion with a 3:52 best, among others.
Ever since Alan Webb ran his astounding 3:53.43 in 2001, becoming the first prep since the 1960s to break four minutes, national media tasks the top prep milers with topping the feat each year.
Scannell claims that the number is not on their minds.
What does sub-four mean to you?
"Nothing," he said. "Every time I say that, people go crazy but it's not a big deal. We don't come to run times, we come to win. We are going to Festival of Miles to run a mile. If he gets under four, we're gonna celebrate like everyone else. It's a race and it's not a race against a clock, it's a race against a bunch of guys who also want to beat him."
