HARDEST EVENT IN TRACK IS...? *DRUMROLL*

That event would get violent hahaha.

I’m just picturing all of these olympians running 3:35-3:40 per mile pace trying to fight for placement on the barrier. Lots of DNFs

any other 800m primary 400m secondary guys hate the 300m? i always felt completely unprepared and untrained every time i ran one.

having to hold top speed for longer to be competitive, i "die" much harder in a 300m than a 400m, i suppose this is because the tough part of the 400m has the aerobic system kick in, whereas the last 100m in a 300m is more of a anaerobic speed endurance thing where i didn't get too much training?

CopperRunner wrote:

That event would get violent hahaha.

I’m just picturing all of these olympians running 3:35-3:40 per mile pace trying to fight for placement on the barrier. Lots of DNFs

Now you see it !!!

Outdoor:

800m or 400m High Hurdles.

Indoor:

600m or 1,000m hands down.

I've read from malmo that by 5 miles into a half marathon you should be white knuckling it. In other words you're hurting for 8 MILES. How can an 800 ever compare to that? You guys know the first 300-400 of an 800 doesn't really hurt, right?

I'm sorry, the painful last 400 of an 800 can never top 8 miles of pain.

Longer race = harder.

flvmmox wrote:

having to hold top speed for longer to be competitive, i "die" much harder in a 300m than a 400m

Maybe this is why all the 800 runners here are saying the 800 is not the worst, but other distance runners think it is. Some 5k/10k guy basically has to blast the 800 the entire way, whereas a 800 specialist is relatively comfortable coming through 400 fast but not all out. For what it's worth I'm also an 800 guy and definitely don't think it's the hardest. Anything at 5k or longer I'm dying as I hold on for miles at a time though.

fastboy77 wrote:

My second vote would be for the 800 because its a hybrid event. If you're a sprinter, it's way longer than you're accustomed to and that sucks. If you're distance, you're forced to run way faster than any other distance events require. It hurts like hell for everyone.

Nonsense. It feels perfectly natural to us proud people called 800 runners. Naturally it’s still strenuous, but it’s the “easiest” event when you’re well prepared and well suited for it.

-trudy from djibouti

yes i also find 800m easy as an 800m guy. if i can run a 400m in 50, i'm happy to walk a 58 for the first lap. by the time the pain really hits, the race is essentially over.

i don't think longer necessarily means harder.

for example, 3k/3200/2 mile is easier than 1500/1600/mile to me.

IMO the pain level of a 3k is comparable to a 5k, and of course it's not as long as the 5k. i also feel that the race is still long enough where early pacing mistakes can be made up for.

on the other hand, lap 3 of a mile is more painful than anything i have ever experienced in a 10k, and i do not do high mileage.

adfdaf wrote:

I've read from malmo that by 5 miles into a half marathon you should be white knuckling it. In other words you're hurting for 8 MILES. How can an 800 ever compare to that? You guys know the first 300-400 of an 800 doesn't really hurt, right?

I'm sorry, the painful last 400 of an 800 can never top 8 miles of pain.

Longer race = harder.

I agree. I used to be an 800m specialist and I'm surprised people say it's the toughest.

But sometimes after finishing an 800m I'd actually start feeling worse (the lactic acid making my legs feel worse and feeling more nauseous), which I don't think I've experienced in other races. So arguably it's more unpleasant than hard.

I think there is a good argument that 400m hurdles is harder than steeplechase though, due to having to pay attention to stride patterns whilst sprinting.

A bit picky there. The topic is track. I was a track coach. Nobody called me a track and field coach. Pole vault is a track event, even relies on running to a great degree.

If running alone were the criterion, I would offer up the mountain races, the Double Dipsea, the Big Sur mar. and the like.

Decathlon is my choice for "hardest" because it is a track event that includes many of the above events. And it requires more than the skills and talents of "just" running. (Note quotes.)

Try a decent 800 after doing 9 tough track events.

The best definition of "hardest" isn't just physical pain or hyper-long distance. Hard to me includes the embarrassment of abject failure, which is more likely in an 800 meter than any other race. So many ways to screw up, so much courage required to do one's best. The 800 exposes the mind's weakness like no other event. Yes, it is the hardest event.

Jeffro wrote:

The best definition of "hardest" isn't just physical pain or hyper-long distance. Hard to me includes the embarrassment of abject failure, which is more likely in an 800 meter than any other race. So many ways to screw up, so much courage required to do one's best. The 800 exposes the mind's weakness like no other event. Yes, it is the hardest event.

What do you mean by abject failure? I would have thought this is far more likely in longer races, with people often not finishing (either they can't finish, or they decide DNF would be less embarassing - can you imagine an 800m going that badly?)

There's a lot more pressure on longer races too. You can run a lot more 800m than 10,000m races in a season.

adfdaf wrote:

I've read from malmo that by 5 miles into a half marathon you should be white knuckling it. In other words you're hurting for 8 MILES. .

I've never said, nor implied what you said. I said that by 5 miles you should be "at the edge of the abyss" -- not over it. You should be "in the zone" and fully immersed in the task at hand. You shouldn't be hurting until the last 2-3 miles.

Stay thirsty, my friend.

Agent Oranges: Dropping out of a long race is a relatively-common occurrence, with excuses at-the-ready. Nobody gets to drop out of an 800 m. You just have to deal with the failure of going out too fast and watching everyone pass you, or you failed to cover the leader's move at the right time and are left in the dust. The event is positively Shakespearean in its drama. I love it.

By the way, I've never dropped out of a race of any length. Too easy to do it again the next time.

Jeffro wrote:

Nobody gets to drop out of an 800 m.

I did--or at least an 880y.

I was a flatlander and spent a summer in Flagstaff. Went to an all-comers meet and jumped in the half. Opening pace seemed reasonable, then when I hit the homestraight the first time it was like somebody had sucked all the air out of the place.

I managed to finish that lap (in a PR for the quarter btw), took about three more steps, and then sat down on the curb for about twenty minutes. Welcome to altitude, kid.

Sham 69 wrote:

The 800 is the easiest for me. I don't get a lot of lactic build up at all. I'm like Nick Symmonds and Dave Wottle who start near the back and then start picking people off.

Maybe my potential really lies in the 800 but I like the 1600 too.

If you think the 800m is the easiest, you are not doing it right

British Guy wrote:

peace in the east wrote:

If by “hardest” you mean most instant pain it’s the 400 hurdles

If by “hardest” you mean the most enduring pain it’s the steeplechase

If by “hardest” you mean the most technical it’s the pole vault

If by “hardest” you mean the most dangerous it’s the pole vault

If by “hardest” you mean the event you need the most natural ability it’s the 100

If by “hardest” you mean the event the takes the greatest work ethic it’s the Marathon

Speaking of things people find hard, reading people's posts must be one of them for you. Can't say I've ever done a pole vault or a marathon on a track.

But if you did, you might get lapped and come back to win.

Agreed. I have twice experienced exercise-induced asthma after a 3000m, never under any other circumstances. The point is that if you run it hard, you are running at maximum oxygen capacity for more or less the maximum possible time, which is difficult enough, and if you go too slightly too hard, you are really going to pay. This may affect more 'slow-twitch' type runners more, though.

mofarah44 wrote:

Sham 69 wrote:

The 800 is the easiest for me. I don't get a lot of lactic build up at all. I'm like Nick Symmonds and Dave Wottle who start near the back and then start picking people off.

Maybe my potential really lies in the 800 but I like the 1600 too.

If you think the 800m is the easiest, you are not doing it right

I'd say 200m is the easiest track event. It doesn't have the same pressure on the start as the 100m, or 60m indoors, and it doesn't have the problems of pacing or fatigue of the 400m.

I think the 800m is arguably the easiest of the non-sprints though.

In major championships 10,000m is usually aa straight final, though there are sometimes heats. 5000m and steeplechase are usually heats and a final. 1500m is often three rounds. Are there sometimes four rounds for 800m, or have I imagined that? Running several rounds in several days suggests it is not as hard as the longer races where more recovery days are required between races.

In minor championships, the three 800m rounds might be completed over just 2 days.

I know some of the better run can qualify easily, but others are running as fast as they can (sometimes setting a PR to qualify) and coming back to run again in several hours.