AFTER CRUSHING THE LAST TWO LAPS at the Millrose Games men’s 2-mile race, Bernard Lagat crumpled to the track just as the announcer told the crowd Bernard had set a new American Record by a quarter of a second. Just two months after turning 38—which might as well be 100 in track and

“THE MOST PAINFUL RACE OF MY LIFE” is how Bernard Lagat described his first-ever world-class 1,500-meter race in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1998. From the moment the gun fired until he crossed the finish, Bernard felt as if he were sprinting, hurling himself to the line with every ounce