800m= DEMON FROM HELL

I look at it as a stomach virus that lasts 1-2 days vs. a cold that lasts 1-2 weeks.

The stomach virus is hell. You can't eat, it sucks to throw up, you laid up all day, it can be pretty intense, but after a good nights sleep and a recovery day you are feeling pretty good.

Intense, but short lived.

A cold on the other hand, is as annoying as f***, but unless it's severe, you can pretty much go about your day to day activities, including physical exercise. When I have a cold, at no point do I think "man, I wish I had a stomach virus instead."

However, after the cold is nearing the end, I might possibly think, I wish I WOULD have had a stomach virus that lasted only a day or two instead.

But when you have the stomach virus, I think, man, I wish I could have gotten a cold instead of this.

So in short, whichever race you are racing, the 800 or the 5k or the 10K, the race you are currently in the middle of racing will seem harder. Towards the end of a 10K, you'll probably be wishing you could have done an 800 instead. During the last part of an 800, you would give anything up to disperse the pain.

the reason why the 800m is the hardest is because sometimes for the rest of the day you are in pain if you got yourself to go deep enough. I've had races where I can't sit still because my legs feel like I'm still running.

Ooh, looks like I struck a nerve. Such is the mark of someone with no better argument - start in with the ad hominem attacks.

If you think my argument was dumb, it's because I was basing it on yours. "If you think ____ isn't the hardest, you've obviously never run a quality one in your life." What garbage. The 800 hurt as much when I first started and was running 2:15 as it does now 25 seconds later. Same with all race distances, all out is all out.

Making an argument based on duration of the event is a perfectly legitimate one. Even the 1:49/13:50 guy up above agrees.

It's funny seeing the replies for this discussion. It's great. The 800 is a love/hate relationship, but I love it, if that makes sense. I would say one of the hardest things about the 800 is the training. We are sprinters, distance, and mid-distance runners all in one. I love the pain it brings me, and I love the reward of pushing my body at a high level of speed for such a long/short time. Yes I am crazy, thats why I'm an 800man. It's like having a GF who treats you like a king, but still will beat your ass when she feels like it. haha. My PRs are sub 1:46, sub 3:50(15), low 46 open 400.

The 400, in the beginning I'm giving all I got, eventhough I'm getting passed. I dont really get into my groove until about the last 180/150 (one lap "thats it?"). The 1500, the first lap, I didn't feel it, in a way, 2nd lap...habit wise I wanted to stop after 2 laps. 3rd, "Damn they are picking it up, this hurts", 4th "alight mofo's, here I come." The 5k- eh, yes pain but, get a good rhythm going and people to pace with,, it's not as bad.

The 800 pain level, depends on your fitness and how well you distribute your energies in the race. It's not always the "fastest" person that wins, but the one who execute their use of their fitness the best, as well as avoiding much contact. aka the smartest runner in the race. Depending if you all have about the same times. If i race a 1:55 guy, yes I will win. Guys at my level, typically the smartest one of their use of energy and position plays a great factor.

I think we all are crazy for the amount of pain with put our bodies, emotions, minds through, just to run. No matter what level of runners we are haha. I love it and it feel so good! And the thrill of that internal battle is the greatest.

And the go along with the training. There were a few days where my body gave out, didn't have energy to eat, ice cold bath felt like heaven, felt utter pain for a couple days, couldnt slept because my legs were still jumping, and moments where I wanted to take off my ass and remove all the lactid acid that did not want to leave.

The 800m is an endurance event. No endurance and (as you say) it's hell on earth.

A hard 800 brings pain that has to be processed quickly and pushed through, while a hard 5k is discomfort that has to be ignored for a prolonged period of time. Just like the flu vs. cold metaphor that was given (which I thought was perfect).

The physical and mental requirements of the races as they are happening are different, meaning the physical and mental responses to these races that are needed are different. While running a hard 5k may require the body to use anaerobic energy for a bit longer than during a hard 800, the timing of when this energy is called for makes a huge difference. During a 5k it is being asked to do so after an extended period of running during which the mind can sharpen its focus and the body can release endorphins. In an 800, anaerobic energy is called upon much more frantically, the mind needs to sharpen instantly, and you can forget about feeling the endorphins.

The 800 is a race that you either love or you hate. The fact that it can be a demon from hell that needs to go and die is something that a successful 800 runner knows, and he or she relishes in the fact that they can conquer the beast.

All depends on how you deal with different kinds of pain. No reason to bash others if they don't agree with you, they might feel differently. Doesn't mean they haven't run a hard 800 or 5000, just means they deal with the pain differently than you and feel differently. Personally I think the 800 is a brutal race and the marathon is pretty easy by comparison. This goes back to the fact that I am built as a marathoner, I train as a marathoner. I can handle that pain much better than I can the pain of a well run 800. Actually, the worst pain I have ever been in during a race was a 1000. That is a brutal race.

The thing about the 800 is that after the first 200 you are decelerating the entire race when you run it optimally.

You never really feel comfortable.

In the distance events you get into a rhythm where you maintain the pace the entire way and accelerate the last 200m. It hurts more and more as you go but you maintain your speed.

800 runner here wrote:

Such is the mark of someone with no better argument - start in with the ad hominem attacks.

The 800 hurt as much when I first started and was running 2:15 as it does now 25 seconds later. Same with all race distances, all out is all out.

1. You respond to an ad hominem attack by using an anecdotal note about your 1:50? Nice logic, guy.

2. All out is all out? No. All out in a 100 is different from all out in a 400 is different from all out in an 800. The fact that you don't know this supports my original point pretty well. Thanks for trying!

Well said. Another of the smart people on this thread to acknowledge that this is a fun but apples-to-oranges comparison. (Unlike "800 runner here" who seems to think the only factor is how long the race lasts, probably because in spite of the 1:50 he brags about, he has shit for endurance as well as brains.)

Have to bump this. I went to the MHSAA state finals recently and the only runners puking after the race and/or laying on the track were the 800 guys.

I'd say the most difficult races, for me at least, were (in order):

800m: All out. The worst event of all time. Obviously, the pain of the 400 DOUBLED. You should not be able to feel your legs for the last 200m if you are doing it right.

5K: You want to quit after mile 2, but you CAN'T. You cannot coast, you cannot pull a tempo, nor can you sprint, so you are left with this "middle ground" hard pace. I've finished 5K's and had brief moments where I didn't even know where I was at.

Marathon: More mental than physical to me. Too much time on the road to think about what you are doing and how you are feeling. All of sudden you hit the wall and it feels like your body is about to explode.

This thread is full of moronic arguments, ideas, and people with nothing better to do than let the interwebs know.

800 runner here wrote:

. . . all out is all out.

But, this much is true. And something else is true: pain is subjective.

I'm pretty sure 20 miles - when you're 17, when you're lost and didn't bring any water - is the most painful experience in running, that's just my opinion. But, you can't persuade me otherwise.

As a frequent 800m runner, I think that the difficulty of the event is distorted by the upper distances.

Sure, the race is hard. Very hard.

But if you have no real foot speed, it's unbelievably hard. To the over distance guys, it must feel like almost sprinting the whole way, ya?

After 20 or so 800s the past 2 years, it's started to feel like a tactical race just like any other, and a lot easier too.

here's the real answer:

every event is hard when done right. sure, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. but when comes down to it, there is no easy event. at the elite level, every event will (and should) hurt like hell.

and relax wrote:

here's the real answer:

every event is hard when done right. sure, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. but when comes down to it, there is no easy event. at the elite level, every event will (and should) hurt like hell.

It ain't just at the elite level. If you run any of these races at your particular limit you will know pain. I'm a distance runner and, for me, the race that I avoid at all costs is the 400. I'd rather run the 800 or the 200 rather than the 4. Heck, I won't even wear spikes to run the 400 because I'm afraid that in my extreme oxygen debt I'll catch a spike and fall flat on my face 5 feet in front of the line. 5K/10K/marathon is less daunting than the last 60m of a 400.