What do you think the average 2:30 marathoner could run for a 400?

41.5

Hi guys It is haile johnson.

I used to run marathons in 2:03-2:04 when younger and I have run 43.17 for 400 meters a couple times last week if it comes in handy, actually I got to say it wasnt run flat out, so there is still room to improve I thing.

Now for a more serious post.

I ran 8 marathons around 2:31 between the ages of 25 and 36. My best 440 was 57.6 at age 24. I consider the best time I ever ran a 2:06.1 880.

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2:37 marathon, 65 second 400m pr. I'm pretty much the slowest person I've ever met for a sub-2:50 marathoner, so I'd say 65 is probably an upper limit on 2:30.

Orville

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Tom

57 should not be a problem.

2:30 runners fall into 2 camps. One is ex-800 stars who later move up to marathons for kicks. The others never could do anything else. I think the OP refers to the latter.

Like several who posted here I ran about 2:30 and did long distances 'cos I had no speed whatever. I ran 56 from start and 55 in a relay - seems the answer is 55-58.

You got me, in my case my best 400 was 47.6, as an 800 guy. Ran the 26 for kicks.

Distance running is kinda addictive.

My dad has a marathon PR of 2:30:11. When he was in high school, and training for track, his best 440 was 60 seconds flat. While in 2:30 marathon shape (he PR'd at the age of 31), he said that he would've had a hard time running 65 or 66 for an all-out 400.

He's not an average 2:30 marathoner, but there's a data point for you.

ran 2:33 for the marathon in Dec. and had run 54 seconds for the 400m in the spring of that year. .

I can't believe some people think the average 2:30 marathoner's speed is 60+. Those runners exist, but I'd imagine the average has got to be somewhere in the 55 - 58 range off marathon training, and a couple ticks quicker if they trained for a 400.

Well, my 5k and 10k prs suggested I was capable of somewhere around a 2:19-2:21, and, yet, I couldn't muster faster than 58+ for the open quarter. Couldn't break 2:00 for 800 either.

Marathon PR=2:26

220=29 flat

440=60.xx

Took plenty of verbal abuse for lack of a "kick" from my collegiate coach.

2:31, ran 57 or so year earlier, 59-60 at the end of an easy run maybe 6 months later. Was one of the two slowest sprinters on my team.

In high school, as a 4/8 guy, 52s, maybe 51s as a relay split, but that's pretty meaningless.

Now, I guess it depends on the conditions. Are we talking sprint spikes and blocks? I think I could probably go 55. In racing flats with a rolling start (like most of my interval workouts), I could probably get the same time. If we're talking standing starts in flats, maybe 56-57.

This is pure speculation, because I never try to go that fast. I have broken 60 in the last lap of races (3k-5k), so it's hard to imagine I couldn't go a few seconds faster when rested.

Marathon PR: 2:27

My best 400 as a marathoner - which was actually run 2 weeks before my marathon PR - was ~58. I can't find my logs from that year, so I can't confirm the exact time, but I remember I didn't break 58 then. I did the 58 at the end of a 20x400 workout. So, I probably could have run 56 or so fresh. Who knows, though.

You definitely do not have to have good speed to run a fast marathon. Bill Rodgers best 400 during his hey day was 58. He ran considerably faster than I for the marathon. And I always thought of myself as a slow-twitch guy. I think your question is interesting, but not important. If people answer honestly, you will find very little correlation between marathon times and 400 times during marathon training.