Femke Bol Opening 800m

I think there are hills not far from the track they use. Meuwly is a huge believer that sprinters must train on hills during the offseason. Maybe Potchefstroom has more hills than Stellenbosch. They train both places.

Given his insistence on hills Meuwly was miffed that the Dutch federation had been doing training camps in Florida and booked one for his first year on the job at IMG Academy. That camp was actually Bol's debut with the national team. She went there before doing anything else. Some team members didn't even know who she was.

Meuwly made sure they didn't go back to Florida again.

If the coach knows how to coach 800 proper we could see the first sub 1:50 by a woman within 2-3 years from now. 🧙‍♂️

I don't know why Bol doesn't run the 800 at Dutch indoor championships. That would be a win all the way around.

First of all, she could use it like glorified training. I've watched that race for a decade. It's almost always slow with a winning time just under 2:10. Bol could get to the front and do anything she wanted. A 15 year old won a medal 2 years ago and she repeated last year at 16. Amina Maatoug is the only one who could give Bol some competition and she's almost certainly not going to be in the 800 as opposed to 1500 or higher. Maatoug won the final in 2:04 as a teenager in 2022. Once she departed for the United States it turned into a jogfest again.

Besides, Bol entering the 800 would really boost the interest level and attendance for Saturday. It's always small crowd on Saturday then much higher for Sunday final. Bol in the 800 prelim would double the Saturday crowd.

That meet is February 28-March 1

In Florida, you'd get plenty of steep hills for sprinting in places from Ocala north to Tallahassee.

I think this just adds to my point that 2:02 would be a good debut for Bol. Maybe a 2:01 would be equivalent to Wilson's debut considering Bol is about a second or so better than Wilson over the hurdles and at best half a second better than Wilson over the flat 400m. But anything under 2:01 would be an excellent opener for Bol, 2:02 would be good, and 2:03 - 2:04 would be ok, but by no means bad.

My understanding & interpretation of the Meuwly interview was that they were leaning towards Bol not running 800m indoors at all, as they preferred more time training & preparing for the outdoor season. In addition, indoor 800m running was more chaotic & challenging for a first timer. However, he did hint that she may run the relays at the World Indoors.

Personally I think this is the best approach. There isn't anything to gain from running 800m indoors so soon into her training. Perhaps a 600m race set-up for her would be good, but the expectation would be high, and better to do just the one 'taper'/come off training for the World Indoors, and keep training through otherwise. She needs to drastically increase her mileage and aerobic endurance, and she wont do that with racing & not enough training.

I also think her not running the World Indoor relays might also be good. It's a way for NED to test how successful they can be without her. Some outdoor major championships schedules will mean Bol cannot do the mixed and/or the women's 4x4 as well as the 800m:

Already we know that in LA28 Bol cannot do the mixed 4x4 as it's the next day after the 800m 1st rd.

For the 2026 Ultimate Championships (If Bol qualifies for the 800m...) she would not be able to do the mixed 4x4.

For the 2026 European Championships she cannot do the mixed 4x4 as it's the day before rd1 of the 800m. She couldn't do the heats of the w4x4 (which is sandwiched between the SF & F of the 800m) and whilst in theory she could do the w4x4 as its 2 days after the 800m final, they will probably assess her recovery first.

The timetable for Beijing 27 isn't out yet.

I’m pretty optimistic for her. I’m predicting she will break 2 in her first official race. Will go with a mid 1:59.

And on her opening season time, don't expect miracles. Her team have been super clear to not expect super fast times. They are using this season as a transition and building slowly.

She can run a 1:57 in 2026, and who knows, maybe there is a possibility of a 1:56, but talk of 1:55s or faster in season 1 is silly.

Meuwly has also been clear that she will run some DL meets, where there will be pacemakers, but he also wants her to run meets without pacemakers to refine strategy & tactics, and to test her running brain during a race that isn't a time trial. If she starts with that type of race, she might open with a 1:59 or 2:00....it will be more about the win and how she runs. The times will come later.

Yeah that would be funny to a complete loser who constantly fails and has been mocked and bullied all his life. What a freaking loser you are.

There is no valid reason not to wish her well and see someone make our sport even better.

This is exciting. But then, I have positive self esteem.

I'm not sure how beneficial some of the reasons are for Bol but one of my semi pro triathlons friends always went to Stellenbosch to train in January and main reasons were always:

- Weather was what he wanted in that could easily fit in a double session with nice weather in the early morning and late afternoon

- The university has a very strong sport facility and lab for testing anything specific and for Physios if something goes wrong. This combined with the fact that Stellenbosch students generally only came back in February meant the facility and track etc was quiet whereas in EU/US the facilities are still being used by students

- Costs - Was a lot cheaper to sustain a good training camp

I know Jakob and some other pro's sometimes go to Dullstroom which is close to Potch for similar reasons and has Altitude etc

So not sure why she chose Stellenbosch other than it's probably a nicer area to live for the rest!

1:50 is equivalent to 3:43 so that would one hell of a coach.

She’s a 400/800m runner and will not drastically increase her mileage to prepare for an 800m. 20 mpw will be plenty. As for how long it will take, Alberto Juantorena’s 800m debut in April of the same year he ran his Gold Medal WR, was 1:46. A 50.9 400H requires tremendous fitness that translates well to the 800m.

No. The 800m is event is ever-so-slightly more aerobic than anaerobic in its demand, when raced properly. The 400m and 400mh go into the anaerobic strata, that is why there is not demonstrative kick typically.

The 800m requires a well developed aerobic base. So, volume of mileage should increase as should the red blood cell count.

She is moving between two events that are quite different from each other. An 800m runner has more in common with a 3000m race than a 400m race in terms of the physiological battle that takes place.

It will be interesting to find out what her first cycle of distance training looks like. My guess is 80-90 kms per week, 90 minute "long run." And sometime during the week a controlled complex workout without causing strain.

Probably a strides day and a gym day.

Anyone familiar with her training now? Is she running through distinct phases or is it a slow progression?

Yes. Agreed. It takes time to develop the aerobic base.

At 16, she ran 2:19.51 indoors in Germany. That's not terrible if you she was primarily a sprinter. Based on her running form, I would risk, she was a 2:17 outdoors runner then. That could be construed as a good result if she was training very low volumes for sprinting...

The team must have already known she can tolerate some volume in training and can run well beyond the 600m.

Those D3 guys with "53 or 54s 400m times" are 1500/5k guys not 400 runners. Somewhat important difference lol.

It's not "low" and behold

son, you're confusing d3 with d1. pull up any old average d3 conference. for men there will probably be a winning 800 time in the mid to high 1:5x's. the winner of a mediocre d3 will have a 155 ish PR and a 400m around 50. unless it's a special year. the 2 minute line will be back around the end of the points or top 15 or so. those guys will be nowhere near 50 400 PR. might be as slow as 53 or 54.

you're indulging in a half true fallacy on how 800 runners are made. i was a sprinter in college. i got some 800 time. the guy who won this conference i am looking at, didn't run cross like you say. and has a lousy mile time i could beat fairly easily.

and you're missing my basic point. you could take a 53-54s mediocrity, perhaps with cross work, perhaps not, and with d3 level college training get them like 10th in conference with a 2-flat.

you're then saying we can't get a gifted pro athlete with gold medals and good coaching, with long legs and strides, who runs fairly effortless until the end, when she has a bad@ss kick, to a serviceable 2-flat type 800 time.

i also think that some of you are missing, this is not some kersee "lark" where the runner suddenly registers for different events. this is someone who telegraphed last fall beep beep beep i am running 800 next year.

i think if she wanted to chase the world record it might matter she's a slight tourist. i think you're exaggerating how intensely and long a superior talent needs to train at the half mile to be merely serviceable, ie, run a 2 flat.

people can mock the d3 usage but a merely above average d3 male actually comes out as roughly the same as elite women. i am not talking about the sort of d3 runner who qualifies for nationals, who are like good or ok d1 level, and beyond what women do.

re bol's race schedule, the combination of experimental event and light race schedule suggests they wanted her to get some rest in a rare non olympics non worlds year. handful of races while seemingly working on endurance.

my experience this sort of idea -- we're gonna do just a few events, do them well, then shut down -- will butt up against basic athletic competitiveness, peer pressure, and the mix of inspiration and greed that hits when you do strong test runs in practice. it then becomes, either the athlete wants more, or the coach sees greatness, and they let the horse run. or they stay boring and disciplined, but it nags what could have been. at my more limited level in my new sports, i would typically take the bait. other events would pop up on some more disciplined schedule i'd started with, culminating in some big event.

we shall see. i do think she needs some sort of summiting event. few DLs would be kind of weaksauce. is the DL final in an experimental event enough? hmm

With sydney now preggers will Bol go back to the hurdles?