It is thought that not since the days of Terrance Armstrong and Mike Watson has a Bermudian run a road mile as fast as Lamont Marshall did last weekend in New York City.

The Devonshire athlete took almost four seconds off his lifetime best as he stopped the clock at four minutes 11.9 seconds in one of the competitive Fifth Avenue Mile races.

Marshall was seventh in the New York Road Runners Road Mile Championship Race – an invitation-only semi-elite race that is one step down from the Fifth Avenue Mile race for world-class professionals.

Marshall's father and coach Larry Marshall Sr. said the result points to even faster times to come later this season.

"It's been at least 10 years since a Bermudian has run under 4.11 for the mile," he said.

The race was won by Ethiopia's Bado Worku Merdessa in 4.01.8, while another Ethiopian Abiyot Endale – who has previously run a sub-four minute mile – was just 0.7 of a second ahead of Marshall.

Marshall sr said: "We are definitely pleased with this performance. It is a building block for the longer distances.

"Lamont is doing nine or 10 sessions each week, and on a few days is doing double sessions. His body has responded well."

Going into the race, Marshall was looking to run between 4.10 and 4.12 and pushed through to set his new personal best, which was 3.6 seconds better than his previous mark of 4.15.5 set last year at the same event.

His father said: "We planned on a time, but when you execute it there is nothing like it."

In the lead-up to the race, Marshall ran a tune-up session of 2 x 400 metres on the track with two-and-a-half minutes recovery between the laps. His target split times were 56 to 57 seconds, but he ran a 54-second lap and then a 56-second lap indicating he was in exceptional form for the mile race.

In New York his 400m splits during the race were 61, 64, 62, 64.

The mile PB rounded off a month that started with Marshall winning the Labour Day Five Mile Road Race in 25.29, one of the fastest times run for that distance on the Island in recent years, and only 11 seconds off the course record set by Kavin Smith in 2003. Marshall then travelled to Rhode Island to compete in the CVS Downtown 5K where he ran 14.58, a time that very few Bermudians have ever run.

The 25-year-old is next expected to race later this month in a 5K road race near Philadelphia.

Also running in New York last weekend were Island residents Olga Firsova and Jennifer Alen, who finished first and second in the open women's race in 4.59 and 5.13 respectively.

Southampton's Otis Robinson ran 4.56 in the open men's race.