400. I like the 800,1500 & 5000, but I'm much more of an endurance runner than a sprinter. The feeling of the last 50m of a hard 400 is like slow death. Never ran hurdles but I would guess that the 400h would be even worse than the 400.
400. I like the 800,1500 & 5000, but I'm much more of an endurance runner than a sprinter. The feeling of the last 50m of a hard 400 is like slow death. Never ran hurdles but I would guess that the 400h would be even worse than the 400.
The 10,000 is mentally hardest ,and physically no other event takes as much out of you.
I Got The Runs! wrote:
The 10,000 is mentally hardest ,and physically no other event takes as much out of you.
This ^ is the right answer.
To all those folks choosing shorter distances the only reason that you think that the longer distance is not harder is because you allow yourself to take a vacation during the longer event. Run properly, at maximum overall output, the longer the event the harder it is.
800 or 5,000. 5,000 is uncomfortable from lap 2 on. 800 is just plain miserable.
The 800 is a bear. Even many races won on a kick are simply a matter of who slows down the least, in terms of the hard numbers.
I read a training manual in high school, advising that the best way to win the half was to burn it up in the 3rd 200. I tried it several times and was consistently out-kicked. I finally came to a strategy of waiting until 300 to go and did a bit better. At least I was respected as gutsy.
Anyway, I'm more the miler, the 800 may be easier for an athlete with more natural speed.
If the victory or a PR is out of reach. Just watch the faces of those.
My serious answer is a tie between 400 hurdles and 3000 steeplechase.
My joke answer is any race walking event. Not only is it hard to run; it's impossible to do so.
dontflushwhileyousit wrote:
My joke answer is any race walking event. Not only is it hard to run; it's impossible to do so.
Says the person who has never watched the race "walk" event.
Any high school kid who runs the 400 and 800 for their main events has large balls. Every high school schedule seems like it is set up to give 1600/3200 runners a large break and 400/200 runners a large break, but no love for the 400/800 kids. I would much rather run a 1600 or 3200 before the 800, the 400 just takes it out of your legs for the whole day if it's run right.
I actually enjoyed doing the 800 400 double despite being a distance oriented 800 runner. I was never able to double back in a mile or 2 mile (i lived in MA at the time, they still do the full distance there), but if the 800 was after then i was much better.
like someone previously said, if you are an 800 runner, then the 800 is actually fun to run and you dont notice it nearly as much as you'd think. i was always being doubled back into the 400 (first leg of 4x400m) and that was just one more lap. i enjoyed it because all the stress was off and it gave me an excuse to go fast and chase down people.
time wise it does suck though as it makes you mentally stressed because youre worried about the next event which you can barely rest for.
The MonBRO Doctrine wrote:
10000. It is the longest, so it is obviously the hardest.
Track - Men
Distance Record Athlete Location Date
30 mi 2:42:00 Jeff Norman (GB) Timperley June 7, 1980
50 km 2:48:06 Jeff Norman (GB) Timperley June 7, 1980
40 mi 3:48:35 Don Ritchie (GB) Hendon Oct. 16, 1982
50 mi 4:51:49 Don Ritchie (GB) Hendon March 12, 1983
100 km 6:10:20 Don Ritchie (GB) London Oct. 28, 1978
150 km 10:36:42 Don Ritchie (GB) London Oct. 15, 1977
100 mi 11:30:51 Don Ritchie (GB) London Oct. 15, 1977
200 km 15:10:27 Yiannis Kouros (Aus) Adelaide Oct. 4, 1997
500 km 60:23:00 Yiannis Kouros (Gr) Colac Nov. 26-29, 1984
500 mi 105:42:09 Yiannis Kouros (Gr) Colac Nov. 26-30, 1984
1000 km 136:17:00 Yiannis Kouros (Gr) Colac Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 1984
1500 km 10d 17:28:26 Piotr Silkin (Lit) Nanango March 11-22, 1998
1000 mi 11d 13:54:58 Piotr Silkin (Lit) Nanango March 11-23, 1998
12 hours 100mi 1602y* Yiannis Kouros (Gr) Montauban March 15, 1985
24 hours 188mi 1038y* Yiannis Kouros (Aus) /TD> Adelaide Oct. 4-5, 1997
48 hours 294mi 710y* Yiannis Kouros (Aus) Surgeres May 3-5, 1996
6 days 635mi 147y* Yiannis Kouros (Gr) New York July 2-8, 1984
Trollist wrote:
800m, 400h and steeplechase come to mind.
I'd say this, but no event 400 and up is "easy". I've been running for many, many years. Never ran a 2 mile until about 2 yrs ago. I swear to God, I thought my heart was going to burst!
They're all uncomfortable but the 800 and 400 hdls are intense.
800 followed by the 5,000. The 800 is almost all out for 2 minutes. Agony. The 5km is at a fast pace for 16min. It sucks even when you are in shape. The 1500m is relatively easy by comparison, feels like a 5km but is over in a little over 4:00.
400 is just "this hurts like a mother" hard, whereas 800 is more "mary mother of god please make it stop!" hard.
800 is the only event where you're actually supposed to positive split, and it's equally hard for sprinters and distance runners, so I'll go with that. Never ran a steeple though.
the 110 high hurdles is the hardest to run. The average person would not be able to hurdle the barrier and continue running to the next. Most would not even be able to jump over the hurdle.
Ninetonite wrote:
800 followed by the 5,000. The 800 is almost all out for 2 minutes. Agony. The 5km is at a fast pace for 16min. It sucks even when you are in shape. The 1500m is relatively easy by comparison, feels like a 5km but is over in a little over 4:00.
WTF? If the 1500 feels like a 5pm anytime, you definitely arent running even close to hard enough.
Agree. No doubt 800m.
Another vote for 10,000. The 400 hurts for 200m. the 800 hurts for 400m. The 1600 hurts for about 600m. The 5,000 hurts for about 2,000 and the 10,000 hurts for about 4,000. The only other race I would even mention with the 10,000 is the 3000 SC. Being exhausted and racing over barriers is no joke.
Are we talking most painful or hardest?
I agree with the guy who brought up the high hurdles. Ten of those bad boys - 42 inches high - and you have to clear them at a full sprint. Oh, and even though the race is in lanes, you have hurdles crashing down next to you and sometimes hands, arms, and/or legs finding their way into your lane.
Pretty much ever race 800 and above can be fairly painful the second half, but well trained athletes seem to catch their breath fairly quickly after a big victory.