Is the 800M a sprint?

It’s a long sprint when you’re in the low 1:5x or so range. It’s a short mid-distance race if you’re 2:00 or slower. 1:52 to 1:59 I can hear arguments for both

im going to use this thread as an “800m guy” runs an off event thread

UCF Meet today

Xai Ricks 21.34 (note: prob a 400 guy but beat some big names in the 800 in hs)
Will Sumner 21.48

both are also entered in the 400 tomorrow

800 is pure hate.

I like that idea.

Also, I always felt Ricks is a natural 800m talent who's just trying so hard to be a 200/400 guy for some reason. I remember when he ran that 1:49 beating Aaron Sahlman two years ago while hardly training for the event, but raced the 400m several times and struggled to run 46 until the end of that season.

Sumner on the other hand PR'ing in the 200m is impressive. He's already ran 45.7 from when he was a HS senior in 2022, and that year was also the last time he ran the 200m. He did state in an interview during indoors a month or two ago that he's focusing on the 200/400 for now to get in some speed work, before returning to the 800m. I wonder if Ricks is doing the same.

Just define what a sprint is. For example, say a sprint is when you run at 95% of your absolute top speed. so once you are running less than 95% of your top speed, its not a sprint. Easy.

Then the 400m isn't a sprint. Which, personally, I don't think it is. Another poster here mentioned that the only true "sprinting" races are the 100m and 200m, which makes sense, because there's no pacing or strategy involved. It's just pure sprint speed from start to finish.

I think that's correct, certainly now and at the top end, and you don't see many of the current top 800m runners often running 1500m.

Go back to the Coe/Ovett/Cram era and it was probably close to a shorter middle-distance race with the odd 400/800m type like Fiasconaro or Juantorena.

For all accept the very top tier woman, young athletes, masters, it's still more a shorter middle-distance event with higher aerobic content..

That was in reply to the comment that the 800m is pretty it's own specialist event.

Jamaican 800m runners include Arthur Wint (Olympic Silver medallist), George Kerr (set Olympic record, Olympic Bronze Medallist) and Natoya Goule-Toppin (1:55.96)

speaking of Jamaica - and going back to the “do 800m runners run the 4x400” discussion, note Jamaica’s 4x400 indoor silver’s fastest split was from Kimar Farquharson (1:46 800m)

his 45.41 split was also faster than the splits of USA’s Brian Faust (45.91) and Jacory Patterson (45.51)

Sprinting is maximum 90 seconds ALL OUT. Hang on the last 10 seconds.

Ride the PAIN TRAIN. GO PACE.

Go as ** as you can.

Our guy wasn’t around for them😀 but it isn’t like Jamaican 400m is remotely as deep as you would expect for a country with a dozen sub 20 and 26 sub 10 guys…

Farquharson also runs 45.70 for the OPEN 400M, so that dude is definitely more of a sprinting 800m type. I believe he runs XC for Texas A&M as well

The 400 and 800 and what you can pace yourself in before totally seizing up in lactic acid. It's a test of stamina in that particular system. It's why the world records are pretty stable, because the body fails on a cellular level across the board for everyone. Because you're pacing yourself that by definition eliminates it from being a sprint. I read another poster saying you can only sprint for 250m, I agree with that, maybe even a bit less. Yes they can open up in a 48.xx but the same guys are also capable of a 45-46 in the 400m, so even the pacing is different from a 400 obviously.

No sport involves pure hate, and that includes boxing.

It's an event that requires a higher level of speed. Training for the 800m is similar to the 400m but with a slight emphasis on endurance. So many 800m runners are going to train like 400m and less like 1500m runners who train mostly for aerobic endurance. Jakob is never going to crack 1:42 in the 800 but he has already cracked 3:27 likewise for highschooler you may see some of them doing the 1600/3200 and have a weaker 800m pr compared to the 400/800 runner who has a weaker 3200m pr.

If you want to break it down further, elite 100m sprinters hit peak velocity at 60m and slow down 10-30m before the finish line. In the 200m, the second 100m split is as fast as the first b/c the first half is out of blocks and around a curve.

So if it’s from when you start slowing down… the indoor 60m is a sprint, the 100m is iffy and the 200m is about “pacing” too.

😂😂😂😂

I think a marathon is sprint! just too short to get my leg amovin'