It was 5:45 a.m. on a dark Monday morning when the piercing beeps of my alarm clock rudely roused me from a deep sleep. Just as my hand instinctively reached across the bed for the sacred snooze button, I realized that I needed to get in at least six miles that morning before work. My mind immediately started racing with justifications of why it would be okay to skip the run. But even in the half-asleep haze, I knew that if this was going to be the season that I finally break 3:20 in the marathon, I would need to step up my training and just get out of bed.

It was clear I needed some external motivation. Later that day, I picked up a book I'd recently received as a gift from a fellow runner. The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb follows the travails of John Landy, Roger Bannister and Wes Santee in the mid-1950s as they each vied to become the first to break the "unbreakable" four-minute mile. Bascomb provides a rich description of their backgrounds, training, failures and Roger Bannister's ultimate success. Was the book interesting and entertaining? Yes. But was the book itself motivating? I'm still not sure. But it did reinforce for me one place where we all should look for real motivation-other runners.

When the legendary Roger Bannister first realized a four-minute mile was within his reach, he was not only one of England's top milers, but also medical student. His self-discipline was extreme and he was a consummate loner. For years, he refused to take a coach and prided himself on his ability to break world records relying on no one but himself. But eventually, Bannister knew he'd come as far as he could on his own. For help, he first sought out Australian elite miler Don Macmillan, who was attending a teachers' college in Britain. Macmillan agreed to pace Bannister in his next mile race and Bannister's self- reliant training days were over. Shortly thereafter, Bannister took up a coach and began consistently training with Britain's elite Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway. In May of the following year, Roger Bannister broke four minutes.

I first started running because I like to be alone. I didn't like the aspect of team sports where one person's sub-par performance inextricably affects others. In running, on the other hand, you are ultimately and solely responsible for your own success. But the more I run and more serious I become, the more I realize that one of the most important aspects of racing is the running community.

From weekend joggers looking for motivation, to top-class racers looking to take home prize money, running eventually requires a communal approach. Few people can train, improve, and race to their potential solely by themselves. This is not to say that you can never run on your own-there is nothing more meditative and recuperative for me than a long recovery run all by my lonesome-but when it comes to pushing myself to the max, whether it's in a tempo run, a track workout, or a 5K, I need others.

A key component in this equation is training with others of similar fitness and potential, in similar condition and with similar goals. A sub-2:30 marathon runner gearing down to run with a 4:00 marathoner is usually not very rewarding or valuable to either. Thankfully, we live in a city that fosters the running community and runners of all levels. Several running stores, such as Fleet Feet and Universal Sole, offer teams (from pure fun to highly competitive) and weekly fun runs. Chicago Endurance Sports is another excellent place to find training programs, running groups and running partners with similar fitness levels and goals.

Runners are some of the strongest people I know, but we are human and we need others. So when you are training this summer and desperately want to qualify for Boston, run with a partner or group with similar ability and use them. Find a friend to run with, find an enemy to run against-just find other runners to push you to your limit.

On May 6, 1954, Bannister may have been the only one to cross the finish line under the four-minute mark, but he knew that without Brasher and Chataway's pacing, motivation, and overall support, he would have fallen short of success. As a raucous crowd wildly cheered Bannister's epochal achievement, Bannister made certain Brasher and Chataway were beside him on that historic victory lap.

No one can run the race for you, but they can help you find what it is within yourself that will help you break that barrier, whether it be four minutes or four hours.

Kathryn Harb is the co-Captain of Chicago's Fleet Feet club racing team. E-mail her at kathryn.harb@gmail.com.