Slowest 400 time for a sub 2 800 that you personally know?

For me (been coaching a long, long time) with a huge focus on 800m success...

Had a guy run 57 in a solo time trial and he ran 1:59.8 in the open 800. The day he ran that 57 it was a bit windy and it was completely solo, so I would guess his max was about 56.

But you're right, he was a very endurance oriented athlete. He ran 4:24, 9:09, and 14:52 that year.

57 might be possible, but that is definitely approaching the limit like you said. My HS PR was 2:00.91 so I never even broke two. I ran a leg on our 4x400m a few times and could at least manage splits in the low-55 range (probably not worth much more than 56 in an open) despite having much more of a knack for the longer distances.

The rural public school of ~650 that I attended managed to break 3:30 and 8:10 in the relays like 10 years straight back then; our “MD” coach was a badass. The 5 other dudes in my training group were like 51/2:03, 52/2:01, 52/2:02, 52/2:03. So, I was definitely an outlier on the “aerobic end”. 57/1:59 just seems bonkers, but I’m sure there’s someone out there.

May I ask what state?

Yup similarly I was a mid-long distance runner. For reference my PBs we’re 200m 26.2, 400m 56.4, 800m 1:58.4. The bare minimum would have to be 57 or very low 57 like 57.1-57.2 if the runner was a super endurance beast.

I did with barely 48 second 400m speed

I don’t believe it’s even possible, but 56.4/1:58.4 would take someone capable of sub-8:50.

Mine 440y 55.3, 880y 1:59.6 (60.5 + 59.1, solo time trial)

Also 2m 9:12.5, mar 2:21:54

I have coached high school distance for a long time. I have had several sub 2 guys only split 57 in the 4x4. And no they haven't been close to sub 9 in the 3200. Some only ran 9:40. Most of our better guys are around 55/2:00/4:20/9:20.

long time coach here in NY..retired over 20 years ago...had a kid whose best 440 ( dating myself ) was 56.8 on a relay split, but the next day ran 1:59.8 Open.....definitely an outlier....could only run 4:40 for the mile...was 12th man in XC...I cannot explain it...

I cannot imagine anyone with a PB slower than 57 breaking 2 unless they were an aerobic monster. I ran a 1:52 relay leg in high school (splits of 55/57) and could run a 48 in the open 400. I would be highly impressed with anyone who could run that close to their personal best in the 400 and come back for a respectable second lap to get them under two minutes.

If you've run 800m in 1:59 and only 57 for 400m then you've run your 400m like a p*ss.

had a teammate that never broke 2 open but closed 5k's @ 14:10 in ~62. Seen him run 58 and I believe he could break 2 as he ran 1:58 in relay.

You should definitely be able to run 53/54. As a freshman in high school, I ran 2:02 and could run 52 in the open. The speed was there but not the strength (yet).

+1

Some just don't know how to run the 400m, and run in much slower than they are capable of.

I ran 1:59.5 off of a 57 PR but was likely capable of 56 at the time. Went 55 / 1:58.2 a week later

The slowest I've trained with is 54 and 1:59 from a junior national champion cross country runner. Sub 26 200 and sub 55 400 are likely the pre-requisites for a sub 2:00 800 runner, otherwise the sub 30 second pace for 2 minutes is going to be too fast.

Me 55.4 (440 all weather), 2:00.8 (880, cinders), both in races

2:28:21 marathon (the 880 was twelve days after a 2:33 run at Boston)

This was over a decade ago, but I'm pretty sure I remember my d3 college coach, who was definitely a purely aerobic guy (really prided himself on being a "workhorse" and "extremely untalented"), claiming he could only hit 58-59 for a 400 but could still break 2:00 (at some point in time).

I didn't really believe him then, and still don't now.

Endurance monster here. I bet the 57 guys just suck at running the 400 race.

Probably need 26 as a better cutoff. They'd run 55.x in a race where they knew how to run 400.