What 800m times would you class as elite, amateur, novice, hack?

Assuming we're talking about a male who makes a serious effort in training to do as well as he can.

1:40-1:45- World class

1:45-1:50- Sub-elite

1:50-1:53- Very good

1:53-1:57- Good

1:57-2:03- Decent

2:03-2:10- Average

2:10-2:30- Slow

2:30+ - Consider finding a new hobby

To the OP, most 1:47 guys are secure enough in their abilities to not feel the need to troll Letsrun in this manner.

My PR is 2:00.9 if anyone cares to know.

t94bell wrote:

1:40-1:42 = World Best

1:43-1:45 = World Class

1:46-1:48 = Elite

1:49-1:52 = Collegiate Good/High School Best

1:52-1:59 = Collegiate Average/High School Good

2:00-2:07 = Collegiate Poor/High School Average

2:08-2:15 = High School Poor/JV Best

2:16-2:25 = JV Good/Middle School Best

2:26-2:35 = JV Average/Middle School Good

2:36-2:50 = JV Poor/Middle School Good

2:50-3:20 = JV Worst/Middle School Good

3:21-3:50 = JV Abysmal/Middle School Poor

3:51-4:30 = Middle School Poor

4:31-5:30 = Middle School Abysmal

5:31-6:30 = Borderline Pathetic

6:31-7:30 = Pathetic

7:31-8:30 = What?

8:30+ = Nice try troll.

Heh, I like this. I like anything with lots of levels/categories.

According to that, I was high school poor, but that's pretty fair. I even sucked at the mile, as I was more of an endurance guy. I wish they did 5,000M on the track in HS. Would've been decent at that (and by decent, I mean mid-17s).

There is something about that recharges me. So I close my eyes and I pick a memory of a time I was with you. I relive every detail.

I had just colored my hair dark. It felt like silk. You wore a black shirt and your shoes had green on them.i remember I wished you weren't wearing sunglasses so that I could take in every part of every look on your face.

I liked your expression when you recognized me at the meet last month. It was a moment of disbelief. You looked at me a few times like you weren't sure if you were imagining it. Then there was a mixed expression of nervousness and excitement. And then I sighed. I wondered how could I have been apart from you for over a year.

What if I am a father of a son that just turned 13 at the end of track season and has to run 13-14 yr old age group? He runs a 2:25 800 and 4:56 1500. So all are saying he sucks? I know its not phenominal but this is his first year running and I personally feel that he is above avg. So far. He loves the sport and and is doing good in my eyes.

Almost everyone in this thread is talking about adult males training specifically for the 800m. Your son running 2:25 800m is very encouraging for sure, he clearly doesn't suck.

You cannot make a levelled list of times to suit all ages and genders.

2:25 isn't great if you are a 21 year old male and call the 800m your main event.

Make sure he finds the hate in his heart, that will help him improve greatly in the 800. If he wants to truly be a good 800 runner, he has to be purely driven by hate.

800m Brit wrote:

You cannot make a levelled list of times to suit all ages and genders.

Why should you?

If a man runs sub 1:50 he's fast. If a woman runs sub 2:00 she's fast FOR BEING A WOMAN. If a little boy runs sub 2:10, he's fast FOR HIS AGE.

Well, I don't think anyone should bother making lists to compare different times with ability, but that is the theme of this thread.

I am also certain you are proving my exact point.

Most "novices" couldn't run sub 2:40.

This is only applicable for runners in their prime. I am fast as hell but I'm 47 but can run a 2:16.

screw u wrote:

This is only applicable for runners in their prime. I am fast as hell but I'm 47 but can run a 2:16.

A 2:11 would be a decent time for a 47 year old.

Turk wrote:

screw u wrote:

This is only applicable for runners in their prime. I am fast as hell but I'm 47 but can run a 2:16.

A 2:11 would be a decent time for a 47 year old.

http://www.mastersrankings.com/rankings.php?gender=MEN&season=Outdoor&year=2015

Actually, anything faster than 2:21 for a 47 year old cracks 80% when age graded and would be considered halfway decent.

according to the grading in this thread everyone on lets run is pathetic. Lol

If you think running 2:02 for an 800 is pathetic you have issues. I know a guy who can run a 4:40 mile who can't do even ONE 400 at 1:01

I bet you spent your high school years in the beginner/hack groups and just recently broke into the average tier and now to keep yourself motivated you create these multiple categories hoping someday you can sneak into the Good bucket. Let me be the first to tell you to stop wasting your time, you're never going to break 1:50. Buy yourself a gym membership and spent your time adding some mass to that skeleton of a body and focus on making money.

How good?? wrote:

1:40-1:42 = Worlds Best

1:43-1:45 = World Class

1:46-1:48 = Elite

1:49-1:52 = Good

1:53-1:57 = Average

1:58-2:02 = Begginer

2:02+ = Hack

For adult males:

1:40-1:42.49 Worlds Best

1:42.5-1:44.99 Elite

1:45-1:47.49 National

1:47.5-1:49.99 Very Good

1:50-1:54.99 Good

1:55-1:59.99 Decent

2:00-2:04.99 Average

2:05+ Beginner (Polite way of saying hack)

Long story short, there are more people in the world who can run fast 5K's than fast 800's because having the right fast and slow twitch muscles is rare. By comparison, sub 2 is extremely fast, even in High school.

There should be no attempt to call 1:59 "average" in any way.

Hopefully this is comprehensive enough

1:40-1:43 World Best/Champion Level

1:42-1:44 World Championship/ Olympic Finalist

1:44-1:47 US Elite/ NCAA D1 Champion

1:46-1:49 NCAA D1 Elite/ Nationals Qualifier

1:49-1:51 NCAA D1 Average/ D2 Elite

1:52-1:54 HS National Elite/ D1 Recruit/ Junior College Elite

1:54-1:58 HS State Elite/ D1 Walk-On/ D2 Recruit/ D3 Elite

1:58-2:02 HS County/League Elite/ D3 or NAIA "Recruit"

2:03-2:06 HS Above Average

2:07-2:15 HS Average

2:15-Up HS Below Average[/quote]

Nailed it.

If you are in high school and you just started the 800m you won't be 2:02. If your a younger one you'll be 2:20s to 2:10s. But if your fast maybe less. But if you want to run at college level you have to break that 2:00 mark and maybe less like 1:55. 2:02 is definitely not a beginner level.

As somebody with a pr of 157, I agree with this lost, except I would change the word "beginner" to "slower than average." I'd also qualify this as a list for college male runners or something. Don't want to suddenly label most 14 year old runners as "hacks."

Gonzal wrote:

If you are in high school and you just started the 800m you won't be 2:02. If your a younger one you'll be 2:20s to 2:10s. But if your fast maybe less. But if you want to run at college level you have to break that 2:00 mark and maybe less like 1:55. 2:02 is definitely not a beginner level.

HS seniors in the US average 2:14.1 (based on a 14,230 sample in 2015).

2:01.3 is 1 standard deviation above the mean, 2:26.9 is 1 sd below.

Anyone who thinks 2:01 is average or slow for the general male population is misguided.

I suspect that no more than 5 or 6 guys out of a random 100 could do 2:26 tomorrow?