Josh Kerr has never been one to set himself modest targets.
With his latest goal, though, he’s excelled himself when it comes to ambition.
“I want to put my name up there with some of the best Brits there have been in the history of this sport,” the middle-distance specialist says.
“And I want to be known as the best miler in history.”
Kerr’s upcoming target is to break the world mile record. Set in 1999 by one of the all-time greats of track and field, Hicham El Guerrouj, the mile world record currently stands at 3 minutes 43.13 seconds. At next month’s London Diamond League, Kerr will attempt to lower it to 3 minutes 42 seconds.
The Scot, who declared this world record attempt several months ago, has named this Project 222, so-called because he’s aiming to cover the mile in 222 seconds. His preparation has been meticulous - from writing down his target time daily to taking ice baths lasting precisely 3 minutes 42 seconds, Kerr is leaving as little as possible to chance on the 18th of July.
But even with this most painstaking of planning, Kerr is well aware of what a monumental task lies ahead if he’s to even get close, never mind break, El Guerrouj’s record.
“It's been a new process, chasing this time,” the 28-year-old from Edinburgh says.
“Everything's going extremely smoothly, but when you call your shot this far in advance, obviously there's a lot of things that can happen. and, We're still three weeks or so out from it but I couldn't ask to be in a better spot.
“It's going to be a very difficult day, because it’s a tough record. But I have a lot of trust in my performance coach and we're trying lots of different stuff to make sure that my brain and my legs are ready to go.
“There's a difference between having the fitness to go for it and dealing with the variables that come your way. I believe I'm in the fitness (to break) it and so it's definitely on, I just need to handle the variables that are going to come my way and have a little bit of luck on my side.
“It's been a really tough camp and I’m doing everything I can to find my margins, so there’s not much else that we can do on our end.”
Kerr’s world record attempt will be only the start of what, he hopes, will be a hugely successful fortnight for him.
Read more: Laura Muir: Glasgow 2026 feels like the Olympics to me
Archie Goodburn on his 'terrifying' seizure and defying the odds
Less than a week after the London Diamond League meet, the Commonwealth Games begin in Glasgow, for which New Mexico-based Kerr has been selected for Team Scotland and will, again, race the mile. Despite having won both Olympic and World silverware, Kerr has yet to get his hands on a Commonwealth Games medal, which is something he is optimistic will be rectified very, very soon. And he’s confident that his world record attempt is the perfect race to precede what will be his second Commonwealth Games appearance.
“I think (the record attempt) sets everything up really well and it shifts the pressure and focus of tactical racing and just allows you to focus on the fitness side of things,” he says.
“Then in that two weeks leading into Commonwealth Games, I can focus on how I would like to race there. It's really cool that it's a mile as well, so it crosses over nicely.”
Kerr’s fiercest challenger for Commonwealth gold is likely to be his compatriot, Jake Wightman.
Wightman won the 1500m world title in 2022 before Kerr repeated the feat a year later but since becoming world-class middle-distance runners, the pair have rarely faced each other while in top form.
The signs point to their head-to-head in Glasgow this summer being a truly great race and Kerr, who has had considerable success on home soil in the past, is hopeful their battle over four laps at Scotstoun Stadium will be quite the occasion.
“We have a weird sport where we're only as good as our next race,” says Kerr.
“I won a world indoor title a few months ago and I'm extremely proud of that, and I was very lucky to have the opportunity to race in front of a home crowd for the Glasgow World Indoors in ’24 and really capture that moment. So I feel like I'm in a spot now where I've done myself proud in front of the Scottish crowd and I feel like I have the ability to go out and do that again.
“I don't feel the pressure of needing to perform in front of that crowd because I know that I have it in me and I've done it before and so it's just abut following that script as much as I can and, as always, going out there and giving everything I've got. And normally that comes out with a result that I'm proud of. I've got big moments coming up, and ones that I'll remember for the rest of my life.”
