yep!
yep!
I guess we could conclude that the sport of track and field is not for the feint of heart, with all the overcoming of pain threshold involved in running decent to fast times in the running events.... I raced on a fairly competitive basis from 800 on up and they are or were all hard, and depended on the tactics used to get from point a to point b, and whether that tactic was successful or not, it never felt as hard if the tactic was successful for some odd reason??? I just wanted to add an indoor venue to the mix and I think you up the ante on pain, especially after 800 meters, talk about a lung burn and it is a pain that seems to linger for hours after or longer, I used to refer to it as self induced lung collapse, with the artificial air and all that shtuff. If I had to vote, based on my experience, it would be a toss up between 800 and the Steeple, although I had a 5000 meter race or three that seemed to be of nightmarish proportions, especially the last 1200 meters....
i believe the 800m crowd (myself included) is making the argument that in the 800, you are barely pumping your arms after 600m, your legs barely work, your wobbeling, your absolutly in extremus...now in longer events this can occur as well, i full believe a steeple would hurt like no other. im personally a 5000, 10000 guy, and i basically cant handle lactic acid at all, so for me the 800 feels like a morbid form of hell.
Try running a mile every hour day and night for six weeks.
there is a reason why you can only run so many 10k's... first of all it's up to 30min long... by far the hardest mentally and physically demanding event there is on the track...
the question however is running event... i'll excluded ultramarathons but come on there is now question about it... unless you walk 26.2 miles the hardest running event there is is the marathon... over 2hours of competing... talk about pain... pain in the quater is measured in seconds, pain in the marathon is measured in miles...
I am getting a kick out of the college kiddos here posting the diffrent track events that are the hardest. The marathon, OF COURSE, is the hardest of all. That is why there are age mininums at races.
10k wrote:
there is a reason why you can only run so many 10k's... first of all it's up to 30min long... by far the hardest mentally and physically demanding event there is on the track...
the question however is running event... i'll excluded ultramarathons but come on there is now question about it... unless you walk 26.2 miles the hardest running event there is is the marathon... over 2hours of competing... talk about pain... pain in the quater is measured in seconds, pain in the marathon is measured in miles...
So right 10K !!
I'd like to preface my opinion with nothing that I've never run a steeple (not cause I won't, because I'd undoubtedly trip over a hurdle and kill myself), also I'm a distance man.
Here's my opininon for TRACK races...
The 10k is the hardest mentally and in terms of accumulating fatigue. Anyone who says you can "settle" in a pace is only half right. You might settle in for a little while, but its not exactly comfortable, and the last 5-10 laps are just hell. Also if you have a bad day, or go out to fast you're pretty much done. I've seen guys start to tie up before 3 miles, thats another 5k to go - thats a lot of pain.
BUT the 10k can't compete with the level of pain in the 8. Even with all out sprinting the end you don't get the same sharp pain. Of course for the 800 you only get the pain for roughly 25 seconds.
Whether the 800 or 10k is more painful is one's opinion, however, I'd be wiling to wager that most people would much rather run an 8 than a 10k, which is why I'm giving it the nod as the hardest track event.
It seems that difficulty = pain in this thread which isn?t necessarily a fair argument. Each race brings on pain at different times, at varying levels of intensity and for varying amounts of time. Running any race incorrectly will be painful and hence make it difficult.
The 2:00 half miler going out in 52 seconds will find it very ?difficult? to maintain that pace for the remaining half of the race. I would also imagine that it would be very ?difficult? for a 10K runner to manage his or her way over 42 inch 110 high hurdles.
Assuming that a race is run correctly (even paced until a surge near the end) and that the competitor is suited and trained for the event, the answer lies in 1) what event creates the most intense amount of pain for the longest period of time 2) what other challenges are presented to determine a winner (i.e hurdles, barriers, water jumps, time of race) and 3) psychological challenges. Given that here?s my view:
1. Steeple ? psychologically most challenging after the 10K. Knowing that one error going over a barrier may end your season or worse your running career is daunting (with at least one wet foot as well). Throw in the challenge of running behind some and trying to anticipate when to hurdle only adds to the difficulty. Pain management is difficult because you switch from feeling like you are jogging the first 4 or 4 ½ laps to carrying Mama and Papa bear the last 3 laps. Pain isn?t as intense as the 400/800 or 1500 only because it?s impossible to run yourself into oblivion without having hit a barrier first. I give steeple the edge in difficulty because of the hazards, not the pain.
2. 10K ? Most 10K guys have run the 5K and typically the pace is only 3-5 slower than what you would run in the 5K. So instead of running 4:35 pace in the 5K you run 4:45 pace?.psychologically, it?s devastating to think that you hit the 5K mark wishing you were done and know you are only half way?and you are already stepping on your left nut every ten steps. Run correctly, 4 miles is bliss, the last 2 you are in a groove and just cruising. Most likely legs are rubber, feet are burning as are lungs. Pain lasts a good 9-10 minutes.
3. Mile ? 3rd lap. There?s a reason why almost every race looks to break distances down to quarters (not meaning 400 meters). In the 800, competitors focus on maintaining in the 3rd 200m stretch. In the 2 mile, the 3rd 800 m stretch. There?s little comparison in any track event to the confluence of psychological and pain impact of the 3rd 400 meters of the mile. Usually, the psychological damage is done in the 3rd lap and you pay for it in the last lap.
4. 5K ? Run correctly, you go through the two miles as if it were a two mile race and then go with whatever gear you have left for the last mile. Pain may last 5 minutes but not as intense as in the mile or 800 meters.
5. 800 ? Too short to compare. Even if you go balls out for the first 400 meters, you?ll have 200 meters to figure out what?s going to happen and the final 200 meters you are either sprinting like a madman or shuffling in because you blew your load.
6. 400 meters hurdles ? run correctly, you are in severe pain the last straighaway ? 12 seconds?.
7. 400 meters ? start sprinting?follow the white line?how hard is that?you don?t even have to bang up against anyone?hell, you might even see any competitors if you are fast enough and get lane 8.
8. Race walking?no comment
[quote]Flagpole Willy wrote:
Ex 400 Man,
If you run the 800 and 400 equally hard with respect to each distance, then you should be more spent at the end of the 800 and have greater pain.
Then the 1600 is tougher for the same reason. And the 5,000 is tougher for the same reason. So, we find, based on Flagpole Silly's logic, that the marathon is the toughest distance.
What a dumbass.
I've not read thru all of the posts, but judging from what I have read it appears that most people here equate "most difficult" with "most painful". Virtually all footraces result in "pain" at one point or another....I think another way to look at this question is to determine the "lingering" effects of the race .... i.e. how soon after an honest effort can one come back and compete again????
I see plenty of 100m-1,500m runners competing twice per week throughout the season, but I can't remember the last time I saw a 10,000m-marathoner do the same thing. Hell, how many marathons can you run all out in a given YEAR????
Let's face it, pain is pain, but recovery from that pain/effort needs to be added to the mix in order to determine the true difficulty of the event.
That being said....how many 400m runners have you seen walking backwards down the steps for a few days after their last race? I've seen numerous marathoners doing just that. (OK, so maybe they weren't the best trained runners so that's the price they pay for being less than committed to training....)
well personally i think the 800 is an absolute bitch of an event, working hard for 400, getting to the bell knowing that you have got to do it again........harder as well. its madness. However i struggle with anything over 800 because i purely find it mentally difficult to run round and round a track so i can see your point of view
Ex- 400 man,
I sure hope your job doesn't involve statistics, pattern recognition, or logic.
Just because I say the 800 is tougher than the 400 (and it is) doesn't mean that anything longer is tougher. In a longer race you have time to back off a while and regain your composure. The 400 simply isn't long enough to cause great pain. You are assuming a lot and jumping to conclusions by trying to guess what I mean. Here's a tip - I always say what I mean. Stick to that, because you know what happens when you assume - you make an ass out of...you make an ass out of...well somehow it makes you an idiot while I remain not one.
To all you people that have said the 400 or 800 you obviously haven't RACED a marathon. The 400 you only hurt for about 10 seconds during and 10 minutes afterwards. That's nothing. The 800 you hurt for about 45 seconds during and 15 minutes afterwards, NOTHING. Go back to school kiddies.
I have competitivly raced everything from 100 meters to marathon. The marathon you are in pain for about the last 6 miles and weeks afterwards. There is no coming back the next weekend to redem yourself if you screw that up.
The steeple. Friends, there's good reason coaches have a hard time talking their athletes into trying it.
You are correct that racing a marathon is tough - but it's a different kind of tired, and recovery time after the race doesn't count.
Besides, I've raced a 50-miler, and once you've done one of those, a marathon seems like well...just a marathon.
Well if you look at times i would say the mile or 5k is hardest because if you are good you have to keep a blistering pace the whole way. Alan Webb ran a what...3:53? Somethng like that. I bet he couldn't run a 1:30 for a half.
I didn't know there were rules the the HARDEST RUNNING EVENT, I thought it would just be the hardest one. Willy please explain the rules to me. So recovery time doesn't count? How about being in pain for a lot longer than another of these 1 or 2 minute track events that everyone is suggesting, does that count as part of the hardest? What about wanting to make you quit for the last 30 minutes of the race, does that count? How about nearly passing out near the end or having trouble keeping your legs going, does that count? Someone has to tell me the rules of the thread before I post next time. I raced the 400 and 800 all throughout college and they are nothing compared to the difficulty of the marathon.
800m is pure unadulterated hell. It's tough to figure out. Out to slow and you'll never catch up. Out to fast and you'll eat it the last 200m.
A marathon is easy for the first 20 miles. After that it can become hell. The last mile of a marathon is the longest mile you'll ever run. In terms of making a fool out of yourself the marathon is the court jester. You can be bouncing along just fine hit 20 and start to implode, adding a good 10-15 seconds to your pace for no apparent reason. When you think it can't get any worse, it does as you add another 10-15 or more seconds to your pace, again for no apparent reason.
The 800m is hell, but only during the race. You will be walking sideways the rest of the day following a marathon. Your legs will cramp up on and off the rest of the day. You will be pissing blood for at least a day. A marathon is a tough race, but in a different way. It's a tough mental race. You can pop into 800m race after 800m race. But a bad marathon can scar you because you've built up all that training over the months for nothing. It toughens you up mentally so that a bad race doesn't cause you to curse yourself and your training.
Alan
I agree totally with the last post! The 800m is TOUGH and the event I focused on in my running career; however, there have been several studies in the past and the toughest in
order:
Top Five
1. Marathon
2. 800m
tie) Steeple
4. 400H
5. 1500m
the studies were completed with recreational, college, and elite athletes several years ago and appeared in various magazines.
Vipam