Have we officially declared the 800 meters to be the most intensely painful footrace a human can run?

Haha

Simply by the numbers for standard distances (no 600 or 1000), the 800 has the highest measured lactate concentration, slightly higher than 400.

I've seen marathoners and ultrarunners post online that they don't want to run 5Ks because they don't want to hurt that much.

Marathons are for losers.

No, of course not. The longer the race, the more uncomfortable it is. The mile is worse than the 800, the 5000 is worse than the mile, the 10000 is worse than the 5000, etc.

Critical Thinking wrote:

No, of course not. The longer the race, the more uncomfortable it is. The mile is worse than the 800, the 5000 is worse than the mile, the 10000 is worse than the 5000, etc.

Yeah, I've heard people use that line of reasoning before. That the pain of the 800 will be over quickly in under two minutes, but that is not the case, oh no, oh no no no sir...NO SIR THAT IS NOT THE CASE AT ALL!!! Ten years later, I still have nightmares of those 800 meter death sprints.

The 800 meter footrace does not last a mere 2 minutes...it never stops and it never stops and it never stops...it hurts for a lifetime.

All I can say is that I am sorry you had that bad experience. I too have run the 800 meters so hard that my eyes rolled back in my head and I forgot my middle name, but I would honestly rather do that, recover for five minutes, and then do it again than run a 10000.

Personally I'm a miler, if it makes any difference.

If you ever ran a 1000y, you know the 800 ain't shit!

Exactly right. I was an 800 guy and would gladly run an 800 with all its lactate induced torture than run a marathon. Every marathon I've run has been an absolute pain train for the last hour.

coach d wrote:

Simply by the numbers for standard distances (no 600 or 1000), the 800 has the highest measured lactate concentration, slightly higher than 400.

I've seen marathoners and ultrarunners post online that they don't want to run 5Ks because they don't want to hurt that much.

Marathons are for losers.

Come back when you've raced a few 5000s all out, tough guy.

800 METER DEATH SPRINT wrote:

Nothing and I mean NOTHING hurts like an 800. I still have nightmares of being forced to run it over 10 years ago. I chuckle to myself when people are impressed by someone being able to run a marathon. Hell, I've run plenty of marathons and they ain't SHIT compared to an 800 meter death sprint.

When you raced a Marathon did you not run the last 800 as hard as you could? The 800 is a tough event but any event longer still has an all out 800 at the end if run correctly.

If you don't go out hard in a 5k, 10k, marathon etc, you can make it up later. Lots of strategy and pacing. Same with the 1,500. Try going out slow in an 800 and see what happens.

A great 800 race involves pushing the lactate threshold, for enough time to grind the balls more intensely than any other standard distance race.

Fact.

800 METER DEATH SPRINT wrote:

Nothing and I mean NOTHING hurts like an 800. I still have nightmares of being forced to run it over 10 years ago. I chuckle to myself when people are impressed by someone being able to run a marathon. Hell, I've run plenty of marathons and they ain't SHIT compared to an 800 meter death sprint.

The 800 hurts, granted. It's a race to be respected. But EVERY distance race hurts if you're doing it right. If you're well prepared for an 800, it's over so quickly that you don't really have much time to hurt, though. I remember mile, two-mile, 5K, and 10K races that were every bit as painful as my 800s, and the pain obviously lasted a lot longer.

Actually, I remember many hill workouts that hurt more than any 800 I ever ran.

Pain during the 800 is an illusion in your mind. Acidosis can hurt like hell afterwards, but that gives you false memories of pain during the race. What you re-interpret as pain is really loss of motor control and a sense of extreme effort as you try to hold form.

To run a good 800 you have to remind yourself that despite your physiology trying to shut down, it's not actually painful yet, so quit whining and make some effort and concentrate. It is easy if you have a strong mind.

would you rather get burned by a flame in a few seconds or roasted over a hot bed of coals for minutes and hours?

Everything 800m+ hurts if you push yourself 100%.

The pain manifests itself in different ways with the duration though.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Pain during the 800 is an illusion in your mind. Acidosis can hurt like hell afterwards, but that gives you false memories of pain during the race. What you re-interpret as pain is really loss of motor control and a sense of extreme effort as you try to hold form.

To run a good 800 you have to remind yourself that despite your physiology trying to shut down, it's not actually painful yet, so quit whining and make some effort and concentrate. It is easy if you have a strong mind.

...which is why it is the most intensely painful footrace a human can run.

800 METER DEATH SPRINT wrote:

Nothing and I mean NOTHING hurts like an 800. I still have nightmares of being forced to run it over 10 years ago. I chuckle to myself when people are impressed by someone being able to run a marathon. Hell, I've run plenty of marathons and they ain't SHIT compared to an 800 meter death sprint.

800 hurts, no doubt. but the 400 hurdles is worse.

To me, running of any distance is all about pain management. You have a certain amount to give and it's up to you how to spend it. It's bothersome when my non-runner friends tell me to "step up" from the mid-distance game and run marathons. Distance is more impressive to them because they can't comprehend pacing as a function of pain. If you pace yourself to 100% of your maximum pain tolerance, all distances are equally impressive to me. (But I agree that the 800 SEEMS the most difficult.)

totally agree...count me among those who would rather run a 10k than an 800. I just don't have the wheels, and it's basically non stop pain the whole time for a time that equates to a much lousier performance.

the marathon is a very different kind of pain, but you have to have your head screwed on straight for a marathon and be ready to deal with a slowly rising tide of pain. The 800 is more like a tidal wave.

coach d wrote:

I've seen marathoners and ultrarunners post online that they don't want to run 5Ks because they don't want to hurt that much.

Can you post an example? (I believe you, but I want to see it because it sounds funny)

for realsies wrote:

...which is why it is the most intensely painful footrace a human can run.

In your mind.

I think you are confusing difficulty for pain. Yes, it's extremely difficult to keep running fast when your lungs are maxed out and your legs try to curl up like a dead spider along with your will to continue. But the pain comes later.