The world record for the mile in the year 1865 was held by Richard Webster of England when he comple

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The world record for the mile in the year 1865 was held by Richard Webster of England when he completed a mile in 4 minutes and 36.5 seconds. The world record in 1999 was set by Hicham El Guerrouj when he ran a mile in 3 minutes and 43.13 seconds.

If both men ran the mile together, how many feet behind would Richard Webster be when Hichem El Guerrouj crossed the finish line?

Change times to seconds:

• 4 minutes and 36.5 seconds = 4*60 + 36.5 = 240 + 36.5 = 276.5 seconds
• 3 minute and 43.13 seconds = 3*60 + 43.13 = 180 + 43.13 = 223.13 seconds

Now, find the distance Richard Webster travelled in 3 minutes and 43.13 seconds which is when Hiram El Guerrouj crossed the finish line.

1 mile = 5280 feet:

Set up a proportion of distance in feet to seconds where n is the distance Richard Webster travelled
5280/276.5 = n/223.13

Using our proportion calculator, we get:
n = 4260.85 feet

Distance difference = 5280 - 4260.85 = 1019.15 feet