800m Runners Don't get Respected as much as other Distance Runners

You are just young and immature. It is part of growing up maybe that this bothers you. This ain’t nothing to worry about. Being an 800m runner is great because you are likely a better all around athlete than the 10000m guys. Just do your thing and nothing compares to excellence and doing your best.

Do you also run on the cross country team? Did you make the top 7? If you don’t do cross and only compete in the 800 during track season, then you’re not a distance runner—you’re a mid distance runner. You still have our respect, though. We respect you a lot more than ultra runners and race walkers. As you lose your speed and move up in distance, we will fear you.

I’m trolling a bit in my post. If you were top 7 on your cross team, then the guys should definitely be impressed with your versatility. Also, if you are scoring more points in the 800 than they are in the 1500, 5k, and 10k, then they should be respecting you as well. The training for the 800 is a lot different than all the other distance events. Even a 1500m specialist will occasionally race a 5000m, which makes them more of a true distance runner than a mid distance runner. At the end of the day, you are a runner. Do your best and that’s all that matters.

The opposite. I went to a university that focused on 400m development. Eight-hundred meters was viewed as an event more correlated to 400m than 1500m.

Rightfully so

If you're a versatile 800 guy it's kind of fun to run cross country and try to keep up with the distance guys. If you can do it, that means you're succeeding at probably your 4th best event (after 800, 1500, 400) whereas they are more pure distance guys.

Then track season starts and you blow everyone's doors off. Good times.

That's if you can hang with the XC guys and not just suck.

The 800m can be a tremendously entertaining event, when strong athletes contest it valiantly (see Rudisha, etc).

But, even as ultimately most of running success is genetically pre-determined, the 800m is truly just a game of natural ability. This is certainly true at the high school level, where even extremely talented kids might have to string together a couple weeks of real training to excel at 3200m, but many can just roll out of bed and run 1:55 if it's in them. But even by the professional level, with the success (well, only somewhat) of Murphy, Amos, 15 or 25 or 30 or whatever mpw Brazier, and so on, it's just not an event that compels respect from the point of view of anyone attached to a romantic conception of the loneliness of the long distance runner ...

The marathon is nice because even as running 2:10 or faster is of course first and foremost a question of talent, it becomes increasingly difficult to just waltz your way to 2:05, 2:15, even 2:25 without at least some serious commitment and dedication to training. The 800 as a rule seems at the other extreme, where really one needs to be able to run 1:50 off of 8mpw and basketball on sundays (and this is much further from the outrageous caricature it should be).

The disrespect should fuel your hate.

800 guys can sometimes (often?) be “one trick ponies” in that they’re not nearly fast enough to contribute to the sprints (not even the 4 x 4), and at the same time don’t have the ability to run a competitive 1500. We had a guy (very likeable fella) who could run under 1:50, but only like a 49high and 4:20ish?! Even the 1200 leg on the dmr seemed too long for him. He ran cross, but only in a participatory way. There’s no way he’d even attempt to do the mileage, so there was always this lingering doubt about whether or not he could run decently (esp for the mile) if he put in a bit more time running.

Collegiate 800m runners can earn respect in several ways

1) Run sub 1:50. If you run sub 1:50 you can score quality points at conference. This will earn you respect and likely scholarship $.

2) Make the top 7 or better yet top 5 on the xc team. Again, this would be a positive contribution to the team as a whole.

3) Run on a 4x4 or DMR team that finishes in the top half at conference. Again, you would be contributing to the team as a whole.

A 1:56 800m runner in college who doesn't put in enough miles to compete in xc, and doesn't run fast legs for track relays doesn't offer potential benefits to the team. Plus you aren't a sub 11 100m guy who is impressive to the general public.

800m runners are a joke, most track runners run 2-3 events, you all just run 2 laps and thats it lol.... what a joke, thats why you all dont get enough respect, you're event is just a warm up for all events

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The 800m is interesting as you can train for it in so many different ways. Some people treat it almost like a sprint and run low mileage. Others come in from the other side and treat it like an endurance event and run high mileage. Both can have success. You shouldn't have to take crap from 5K/10K guys, it's just a different event. Of course the training will be different. You're running for one minute something. The others are running for approx 30 mins. Totally different. If they don't understand that they're being silly. What about doing indoor through the winter instead of XC if you don't like it, or is that not an option?

I love 800m training. It's so varied and for me I think it combines the best of both worlds.

It would be interesting to see if anyone applies a 'feed the cats' kind of approach to the 800m.

When I was in college I always thought the 800 meter types were the true thoroughbreds of the sport. The are the best overall runners: fast, strong, good endurance, and in the Northeast years ago they were the ones running in the Garden in front of 19,000 people indoors or running 2 or three events before 40, 000 at Penn.

Tell them how tired you get after running a whole bunch of 52sec quarters, and that you envy them their 80mpw jogs.

I coach a group of middle distance guys at club level and I can attest what you say is spot on. In autumn/winter there it is only mileage.

Not that it matters that mostly is "dumb mileage" - run too fast, with awful form, leading to long term wear and tear and shortened careers, leading to overtraining, hindering recoveries etc.... Just ignore it.

You will always be able to do what the distance guys do if/when you decide to "move up" but they will never be able to do what you do. Stick to your guns, keep working on your form and stay cool.

By the way I just stumbled across a vid of a 1'44/3'33" guy who runs about 30/40 miles a week and does a lot of cross training. Food for thought (or not)

I had a similar thinking process to you when I was in college and a little bit out of college so I figure I can help you out with this one, for me at least it was all in my head.

Cross Country is the first season of the year, so if you are a versatile 800 meter runner you are going to be running XC, but most likely losing to the long distance guys. Unlike the sprinters, jumpers, or throwers, an 800 guy is going to have to spend an entire season running a distance that they are just okay at, maybe even not that great and sometimes it’s easy to feel frustrated or slow since you are putting hours into something that really isn’t your thing. You also have to deal with the track team members on the team that are new and never seen you race on the track automatically think you are slow since they’ve never seen you race track. A sprinter does not have to deal with this since they do not run XC.

It’s humbling, but people really don’t care how you do in XC and they won’t even remember when track time comes and you’re killing it. I got through XC but just putting my head down, not caring about it and making fun of myself, I’d joke with the distance guys that beat me by saying, “let’s race a 2k” or “My talent level drops off hardcore past mid distance” I was a 1:52 800 guy and 4:10 miler who could barely break 26 minutes in the 8k and 15:50 in the 5k. At our conference meet in track I would consistently score or place in the top 3, while my 14:45 5k teammates that killed me in XC would come in the middle of the pack or not even score.

the more miles you run, the more diminishing those miles benefit you. a guy running 100mpw will have noticeable improvement than if they were running 60mpw, but that extra 40mpw will not be the difference between a high level runner and a mid level runner. cross country can definitely be used as a season that ultimately improves on your 800 during track season. imo, you could keep your mileage low and your intensity high throughout the weekday and then finish it off with an easy long run of 14-16 on saturdays and a full rest day on sunday. you'll maintain your speed while also having the endurance needed for cross country. unless if you put in the proper miles for peak 5k/10k performance, you won't reach your potential, but if you're an 800 guy, then your teammates should be lucky to have you; assuming that you're in the top 7 on the team