Can I go from a 1:55 800m to a 1:49.9 in a year?

I have seen stuff close. Kid went out for outdoor junior year. Ran 157. Took it seriously and ran 151 senior year.

But here is a simple question: what if I could tell you that you were only going to run 152. Would you not go for it? You seem slow for a guy looking to run sub 150(expect a 49 relay split) but your close enough.

Thanks for your response, I would be very happy with a 1:52 as that’s a great time to me. However I have big goals and I’m shooting big. Also if it helps, my 51 second 400 was run about 20 minutes after a 1:59 800 smr split, and about 2 hours from a 1:59 4x8 split.

Doesn't matter, you have no control over how fast you run anyways, only the quality/quantity of work you put in. Train hard and smart and see what happens.

I’m sure it’s been done by a couple genetic freaks but that is a huuuuggggeee jump in time. I had just a few collegiate teammates ever who broke 1:50, but dozens who could run 1:55 very consistently. That’s still a great time for a HS junior.
For context, the sub 1:50 guys were all either 4 flat milers or 47 second 4x4 guys when they broke 1:50.

Your goals are my curremt times, id say its possible but you have to train like me, 70mpw and taking every single day as seriously as you can

saw one guy go 1:55 as a senior to 1:50.7 in his first indoor 800 in college

Athlete Special/Spencer Brown went 1:55->1:50 his senior year of high school (I think).

I had very similar PRs as yourself going into my senior year of highschool and ended up running 1:50.x, 4:10ish and sub 50 4x400 splits. I attest the improvements to 1. Getting older 2. Increasing mileage from 15mpw to 50mpw 3. Implementing strides/hill sprints on easy run days to work on speed 4. Consistency in training for the entire year. My xc season was up and down as I adjusted to the higher training volumes but it paid off big time once track season started. All this to say that it can be done. Good luck!

Then do the work and see where you end up. The randomness with physical maturity and responses to training make specifics hard.

Talk to your coach about what you are willing to do and figure out how to get there. Things like 10-20% more volume, doing some little things (some lifting, short hills, drills, eating and sleeping well) are likely to get you a few seconds. I sort of wish your goal was a 4:10 milebor a 9min 2 mile. Seen a lot more kids get there with the mileage boost while 800m improvement seems a bit more hit and miss.

I had a HS senior run 1:54.3 and then run 1:48.6 as a college freshman. That year of maturity and more advanced training with other good college runners allowed him to develop. With others pushing you and proper training you could do it.

Went from 1:58 indoors to 1:50 indoors the next year. And yes, the 1:58 was a pretty good race for me that year.

It could take you 5 years if not forever. 1:49 is not a promise.

I ran 1:55.5 as a senior in high school and then ran 1:51.3 as a freshman in college. Training definitely got better, smarter, and more consistent.
But I then only improved 1-2 seconds over the next 4 years...so.

This seems like a good target for your freshman year of college. There's no guarantee of improvement in high school. My teammate ran 1:54.8 as a sophomore and never ran faster.

100% possible.

This is the Po10 profile of a club mate of mine who's a lot older than you (22/23). He ran 1:53.18 in August 2021 and just laid down 1:48.45 in June 2022. Close to 5 seconds in 10 months and that's at a stage where he's already physically developed.

https://www.thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=973613

Go get it.

I love the ambition! There's lots of good stuff on this thread. As a coach, my suggestion would be to mix in some more process-oriented goals with your time-based goal. You don't want to be finishing a race in first place by three seconds and then immediately looking up at the big screen or the clock, disappointed that you ran a 1:52.3. That could sap the joy out of the sport. Truly commit to the process of getting better every day, and the times will come. In terms of training, get in turnover work every single day. Hill sprints, box jumps, strides, short max sprints, butt kicks, plyos.

Good luck!

how do you improve your 400? is it through top speed (50 meter sprints), hill sprints, or lifting?

I run a 55/1:56/3:55 (1500) so I think my slow 400 speed is handicapping me the most

I had a guy go from 2:01 to 1:52 in a year. Here’s the thread I started on the process

Give me some more information. How many miles per week do you run? What is a typical week of training with specifics for each workout? What is your running history? How many years have you been running and how hard/easy etc etc. It may be possible but as a Junior soon to be Senior in high school are you going to run cross country in the fall. If you can build a ton of strength this summer, what’s left of it, and run cross country mainly for the aerobic benefits who knows, it is possible…But first shoot for 1:52/1:53 then build toward that peak race…