Mike Berry (44.75 400m) running the 800

I'd love to see Pitt's Brycen Spratling take a serious stab at the 800. He's a 45.8 indoor 400 guy who also has run 60.3 in the 500 this past year indoors. He has run one 800 ever and it was the very first meet of his season in december last year (2011) and he ran 1:53.1 the same meet he also opened up with a 6.94 in the 60. Now that is some serious range. A guy with his kind of range and speed could be an incredible 800 runner. I definitely see him as a Jock or KD type of 800 runner. I'm sure he'd be a 1:47 guy this year on his sprint training alone, another year of 800 specific training and he could be a 1:44 guy. If I was his coach I'd really look into it as its tough to make it in the USA as a 400 guy when you can't break 45

Doug Heffernan wrote:

If I was his coach I'd really look into it as its tough to make it in the USA as a 400 guy when you can't break 45

Or you could point out to his coach that his runner has run sub 45 a number of times!

The biggest 'event reconfiguration' occurs at the 400/800 boundary. If you look at the number of successful doubles (not necessarily at a single meet but in a season or two) you will find a lot of 100/200s, some 200/400, few 400/800 more 800/1500, and similarly 1500/5000, 5000/10,000. To an extent the 200/400 gap is also small but it is not clear what makes it so. One factor is that a 200 guy is going to make more if he moves down to the 100 than up to the 400. Plus, moving down is 'easier' while moving up 'hurts'. What makes the 400 hurt for a sprinter is 'writ large' going to the 800.

Women do the 400/800 more easily. Also, I suspect that the number of 400h guys doing the 800 is about the same as those doing the 200. However, usually the 800 is done for strength work need to push the speed of the 400 over the hurdles, and since the 400h is 10% slower than the 400, the gap to the 800 is smaller then the 'gap' 400/800.

A hidden element is the internal motivation of the athlete; the 800 is a (middle) distance event and the distance mentality is different than the sprint mentality.

good comment, i like your incite.

As mentioned earlier many oregon runners compete over-distance at the preview, but very rarely with an impressive performance.

I would be excited to see what Mike Berry could produce, but as past performance would suggest, likely we wont be seeing that.

A likely outcome could be he goes out near the back of a weak heat, passes a couple guys in the last 150 and runs 1:58. Walks off the track upset he ran a 800.

Spidaman_123123 wrote:

good comment, i like your incite.

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I saw nothing in the comment that would incite.

maybe they'll throw him on the penn relays 4x8

cd16 wrote:

maybe they'll throw him on the penn relays 4x8

Great idea. Columbia won the 2007 Penn 4x800 by sticking All-American 400m runner and (and future Olympian)Erison Hurtault on third leg. I'd never heard of him running 800 before, but the race slowed down and bunched up on that leg and Hurtault absolutely decimated the field, and set up their anchor to win.

Watch the race...Hurtault takes the stick at ~3:40:

I consider this win as Columbia's "coming out party" as a mid-D power house.

Harald Schmid:

400M 44.92

400IH 47.48

800M 1:44:84

Well, the results are out and he DID NOT pr. 2:01.

I'm sure he walked off muttering to himself about being glad "that is over with". Now he can appreciate the 400 all the more.