Numerous National records were set in the Bislett Dream Mile, including current records: Great Britain (Steve Cram), Spain (José Luis González), Qatar (Daham Najim Bashir), Australia (Craig Mottram), New Zealand (John Walker), Germany (Jens-Peter Herold), Somalia (Abdi Bile), Portugal (Rui Silva), Ireland (Ray Flynn), Canada (Kevin Sullivan), Brazil (Hudson de Souza) and Saudi Arabia (Mohammed Shaween).

This was described by Duncan Mackay in The Observer as "...a race to rival the 'Miracle Mile' [taking] middle-distance running into a new era.

The first event called a "Dream Mile" was a match race between Jim Ryun and Marty Liquori on May 16, 1971.

The event took place at the Martin Luther King International Freedom Games at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Bob Hersh of Track & Field News wrote, "The build-up was probably the greatest for any single footrace since the historic 'Miracle Mile' at Vancouver, British Columbia in 1954."