the 1600 is a special sort of torture. You don't remember how bad it is until after you're foolish enough to line up for another one. Then when you get to 500 or 600 meters, you realize you're in for it. But too late to escape, except by a humiliating drop out.
When you pass 800 meters, everything goes into slow motion. The 3rd lap is eternal. And hell arranges to have two or three people pass you, and quickly gap you by 20 or 30 meters. To finish the 3rd lap, first you have to complete half of it, then half of the remaining 200m, and half of the remaining 100m, and so forth ad infinitum - it is mathematically impossible to complete the 3rd lap, literally takes forever. I think many runners disappear into an eternal 3rd lap time dungeon.
If you do somehow manage to complete the 3rd lap, by then you are in a state of pure agony. But it is physically and mentally impossible to drop out of a race with less than 1 lap left. So you have no choice but to endure another however many seconds of existential dissolution.
When it is all over and you have recovered, your mind blocks out the horror from memory. You could not live a normal life otherwise, you'd go insane. Unfortunately this leads you to run the mile again and again, until your soul is severely scarred and you are doomed to a life of subtle dementia.
Every distance over 200m hurts. The 400m is very painful. The 800m is slightly less painful but you're doing it for twice the distance. The 1600m is slightly less painful than that but twice the distance. Etc.
You're trading in a little less pain for a lot more time. Personally the longer events are the worst because it's mental anguish combined with physical pain. Dealing with it for 4+ laps isn't that fun. These days the 800m is basically a long 400m grind. So that's not fun either. If you can be a sprinter just do that.
As someone who tried most distances in some form from 100m to 1500m I always felt 800m was by far the worst ..
It was originally my main event and I ended up switching to the 1500m as I just kind of quit on the 800m mentally
400m was short enough that the pain was finished quickly and 1500m was slow enough that it didn't feel as bad except for last 200m. Where 800m was basically a 400m x 2 .. Utter pain !
the 1600 is a special sort of torture. You don't remember how bad it is until after you're foolish enough to line up for another one. Then when you get to 500 or 600 meters, you realize you're in for it. But too late to escape, except by a humiliating drop out.
When you pass 800 meters, everything goes into slow motion. The 3rd lap is eternal. And hell arranges to have two or three people pass you, and quickly gap you by 20 or 30 meters. To finish the 3rd lap, first you have to complete half of it, then half of the remaining 200m, and half of the remaining 100m, and so forth ad infinitum - it is mathematically impossible to complete the 3rd lap, literally takes forever. I think many runners disappear into an eternal 3rd lap time dungeon.
If you do somehow manage to complete the 3rd lap, by then you are in a state of pure agony. But it is physically and mentally impossible to drop out of a race with less than 1 lap left. So you have no choice but to endure another however many seconds of existential dissolution.
When it is all over and you have recovered, your mind blocks out the horror from memory. You could not live a normal life otherwise, you'd go insane. Unfortunately this leads you to run the mile again and again, until your soul is severely scarred and you are doomed to a life of subtle dementia.
As someone who tried most distances in some form from 100m to 1500m I always felt 800m was by far the worst ..
It was originally my main event and I ended up switching to the 1500m as I just kind of quit on the 800m mentally
400m was short enough that the pain was finished quickly and 1500m was slow enough that it didn't feel as bad except for last 200m. Where 800m was basically a 400m x 2 .. Utter pain !
I agree. 800 is pure agony from start to finish. 3200 is more mentally tough, but not physically.
the 1600 is a special sort of torture. You don't remember how bad it is until after you're foolish enough to line up for another one. Then when you get to 500 or 600 meters, you realize you're in for it. But too late to escape, except by a humiliating drop out.
When you pass 800 meters, everything goes into slow motion. The 3rd lap is eternal. And hell arranges to have two or three people pass you, and quickly gap you by 20 or 30 meters. To finish the 3rd lap, first you have to complete half of it, then half of the remaining 200m, and half of the remaining 100m, and so forth ad infinitum - it is mathematically impossible to complete the 3rd lap, literally takes forever. I think many runners disappear into an eternal 3rd lap time dungeon.
If you do somehow manage to complete the 3rd lap, by then you are in a state of pure agony. But it is physically and mentally impossible to drop out of a race with less than 1 lap left. So you have no choice but to endure another however many seconds of existential dissolution.
When it is all over and you have recovered, your mind blocks out the horror from memory. You could not live a normal life otherwise, you'd go insane. Unfortunately this leads you to run the mile again and again, until your soul is severely scarred and you are doomed to a life of subtle dementia.
This is an excellent hyper-compressed plot summary of "Once a Runner."
My school offers the following track events: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m, and 3200m. Which is the most painful and generally hardest to run?
The 400 doesn't hurt for long... but the pain is the worst by far...'
As one 400m Oklahoma HS state champion (Paul Stansberry) once told me...
"Everybody tells you that in the last 100 of a 400 that a gorilla jumps on your back... what they don't tell you is that he is also reaching down and squeezing your balls too".
Paul was a funny guy. I wish I could remember everything he said... one other one I remember is that he said about those old Gatorade glass quart glass bottles. "The inventor of Gatorade did a study to find out what nutrients an athlete needed in a sports drink. They also did a study to determine what bottle opening design was the worst shaped for the human mouth." For those who remembered how hard it was to drink from those things.
As someone who tried most distances in some form from 100m to 1500m I always felt 800m was by far the worst ..
It was originally my main event and I ended up switching to the 1500m as I just kind of quit on the 800m mentally
400m was short enough that the pain was finished quickly and 1500m was slow enough that it didn't feel as bad except for last 200m. Where 800m was basically a 400m x 2 .. Utter pain !
Correct its the 800.
It's why most elite 800m runners fizzle out after a few years despite not physically degrading. Mentally they are done.
I've been arguing a lot on this forum(and ignored) that Athing Mu doesn't hate track or is too focused on modeling or is depressed...no....she's just tired of running the 800m and is following the normal arc for an elite in the event.
The event is not fun to race, gives most runners ptsd, the jitters at start line are terrible. It hurts so so so much. You don't forget it and every time you toe the line again you have a sense of impending doom knowing you are about to face some of the worst uncomfort of your young life.
Fews years of that torture and I get why someone suddenly develops other interests and 'hates racing"
the 1600 is a special sort of torture. You don't remember how bad it is until after you're foolish enough to line up for another one. Then when you get to 500 or 600 meters, you realize you're in for it. But too late to escape, except by a humiliating drop out.
When you pass 800 meters, everything goes into slow motion. The 3rd lap is eternal. And hell arranges to have two or three people pass you, and quickly gap you by 20 or 30 meters. To finish the 3rd lap, first you have to complete half of it, then half of the remaining 200m, and half of the remaining 100m, and so forth ad infinitum - it is mathematically impossible to complete the 3rd lap, literally takes forever. I think many runners disappear into an eternal 3rd lap time dungeon.
If you do somehow manage to complete the 3rd lap, by then you are in a state of pure agony. But it is physically and mentally impossible to drop out of a race with less than 1 lap left. So you have no choice but to endure another however many seconds of existential dissolution.
When it is all over and you have recovered, your mind blocks out the horror from memory. You could not live a normal life otherwise, you'd go insane. Unfortunately this leads you to run the mile again and again, until your soul is severely scarred and you are doomed to a life of subtle dementia.
This is solid gold running literature. Thank you.
Have to say, that is pure gold, especially by LRC standards. “Existential dissolution” indeed; I don’t even care if it makes sense or not!