The 800m is the hardest race and it is a demon from hell that's needs to go die!!! Why do us distance runners get forced into running it? I just sprinted my ass of to get a 2:21 AHHH what's a girl gotta do to get under 2:20?? Sorry just had to vent my anger
fack it wrote:
The 800m is the hardest race and it is a demon from hell that's needs to go die!!! Why do us distance runners get forced into running it? I just sprinted my ass of to get a 2:21 AHHH what's a girl gotta do to get under 2:20?? Sorry just had to vent my anger
How old are you and what is your best 400 time?
ya'll gotta be crazy. I'm an 800 guy, and while I agree it hurts a lot, I think longer distance races are way more brutal. The 800 only hurt's for like the last 100-300 meters. I've done 5k's before, and I think that they are a lot worse. It's so painful staying mentally tough when you just want to fall down after like 10 minutes of racing, but you've got to keep going.
and people who say the 400 is hardest must be out of their tree - it's like 1 minute long compared to SEVERAL minutes long.
at least that's my take on the situation
friday, friday, friday wrote:
ya'll gotta be crazy. I'm an 800 guy, and while I agree it hurts a lot, I think longer distance races are way more brutal. The 800 only hurt's for like the last 100-300 meters. I've done 5k's before, and I think that they are a lot worse. It's so painful staying mentally tough when you just want to fall down after like 10 minutes of racing, but you've got to keep going.
and people who say the 400 is hardest must be out of their tree - it's like 1 minute long compared to SEVERAL minutes long.
at least that's my take on the situation
no. the 800 is the worst race ever period, end of discussion
watttttttt?? wrote:
friday, friday, friday wrote:ya'll gotta be crazy. I'm an 800 guy, and while I agree it hurts a lot, I think longer distance races are way more brutal. The 800 only hurt's for like the last 100-300 meters. I've done 5k's before, and I think that they are a lot worse. It's so painful staying mentally tough when you just want to fall down after like 10 minutes of racing, but you've got to keep going.
and people who say the 400 is hardest must be out of their tree - it's like 1 minute long compared to SEVERAL minutes long.
at least that's my take on the situation
no. the 800 is the worst race ever period, end of discussion
Yeah, because the 10,000 is so much less painful than the 800. That's why all the 10k and 5k guys are in those events, because the 800 is just too hard.
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no. the 800 is the worst race ever period, end of discussion[/quote]
what if you start a marathon at 800m pace and...?
watttttttt?? wrote:
friday, friday, friday wrote:ya'll gotta be crazy. I'm an 800 guy, and while I agree it hurts a lot, I think longer distance races are way more brutal. The 800 only hurt's for like the last 100-300 meters. I've done 5k's before, and I think that they are a lot worse. It's so painful staying mentally tough when you just want to fall down after like 10 minutes of racing, but you've got to keep going.
and people who say the 400 is hardest must be out of their tree - it's like 1 minute long compared to SEVERAL minutes long.
at least that's my take on the situation
no. the 800 is the worst race ever period, end of discussion
but the 800 lasts only like 2 minutes. Less than one lap of it hurts. it's nasty but quick.
For the longer distances you have to keep thinking about the pain. It takes mental strength to keep pushing yourself when you could easily slow down and give into a mediocre effort.
The 800 is hardest for the long distance runners. The 5k/10k is hardest for middle distance runners. The marathon is hardest for everyone.
I run the eight because I can tolerate any amount of pain for 60 seconds.
friday, friday, friday wrote:
and people who say the 400 is hardest must be out of their tree - it's like 1 minute long compared to SEVERAL minutes long.
The duration isn't the only issue.
It's clear that anyone who says the 800 or 400 are easier than the 5000, simply because they're shorter, simply hasn't run a quality 400 or 800 in their life.
Does the 5000 require a different kind of mental toughness? Of course. You are in a lot of discomfort from early on, it's not going to end anytime soon, and then you get to kick when you're already deep in oxygen debt.
But it's simplistic to say that it's "harder" than the 800. They are different events. The only person I would be interested to hear the comparison from would be El G, and I suspect he'd say the 8.
the smartest letsrunner wrote:
It's clear that anyone who says the 800 or 400 are easier than the 5000, simply because they're shorter, simply hasn't run a quality 400 or 800 in their life.
Spoken like a guy who's never run a quality 5000 in his life. If you have, you'd know you're on the edge from 3000 on. As stated above, "the edge" in an 800 might last 300 meters, 400 at most if you went out too hard. There's no comparison.
The 800 is baby cakes compared to a hard 5k-10k race.
the smartest letsrunner wrote:
The duration isn't the only issue.
It's clear that anyone who says the 800 or 400 are easier than the 5000, simply because they're shorter, simply hasn't run a quality 400 or 800 in their life.
Does the 5000 require a different kind of mental toughness? Of course. You are in a lot of discomfort from early on, it's not going to end anytime soon, and then you get to kick when you're already deep in oxygen debt.
But it's simplistic to say that it's "harder" than the 800. They are different events. The only person I would be interested to hear the comparison from would be El G, and I suspect he'd say the 8.
Definitely, I would say the 5k is harder, and I would probably say the 10k was harder if I had ever raced that distance.
Instead, waiting to hear El G's opinion, why don't you perform this experiment which I think will change your mind. Focus your training on strength and mileage at the start of your season. Race some 5ks. I don't remember the event schedule, but if timing permits race a 5k and 800 double. If it doesn't, race a 5k and 1500 double.
Then, as your season progresses focus on sharpening your speed, and cut out the 5k races. I think this will change your opinion about the 5k. Plus, you should be a lot stronger for the 800.
It's worth noting that Seb Coe said in an interview not too long ago - when asked what the hardest olympic distance to medal in was, he replied "The 800m of course."
As an 800m runner the 5k is the definition of pain.
the smartest letsrunner wrote:
friday, friday, friday wrote:and people who say the 400 is hardest must be out of their tree - it's like 1 minute long compared to SEVERAL minutes long.
The duration isn't the only issue.
It's clear that anyone who says the 800 or 400 are easier than the 5000, simply because they're shorter, simply hasn't run a quality 400 or 800 in their life.
I've run 800's and 400's very hard. I've run the 400 so hard (foolishly) that I hit the wall with like 60 meters left, then hit another wall (DOUBLE WALL) before the finish line. I still didn't think it was as hard as a 5k.
Wow, I have spoken to a lot of other athletes during my career and most of them say that either the 400m hurdles or the 800m has to be the toughest event. The longer races come up in conversation but the 5k/10k guys usually shoot it down and agree that 800m/400H is harder.
watttttttt?? wrote:
friday, friday, friday wrote:ya'll gotta be crazy. I'm an 800 guy, and while I agree it hurts a lot, I think longer distance races are way more brutal. The 800 only hurt's for like the last 100-300 meters. I've done 5k's before, and I think that they are a lot worse. It's so painful staying mentally tough when you just want to fall down after like 10 minutes of racing, but you've got to keep going.
and people who say the 400 is hardest must be out of their tree - it's like 1 minute long compared to SEVERAL minutes long.
at least that's my take on the situation
no. the 800 is the worst race ever period, end of discussion
Seconded...I was a steeple 5k 10k guy, and I thought the 800 was pure hell. The firey pain of an 800 to the limit is way worse than the slow burn of a long distance race.
800 runner here wrote:
the smartest letsrunner wrote:It's clear that anyone who says the 800 or 400 are easier than the 5000, simply because they're shorter, simply hasn't run a quality 400 or 800 in their life.
Spoken like a guy who's never run a quality 5000 in his life. If you have, you'd know you're on the edge from 3000 on. As stated above, "the edge" in an 800 might last 300 meters, 400 at most if you went out too hard. There's no comparison.
The 800 is baby cakes compared to a hard 5k-10k race.
Sorry for the double post, but I disagree, and this is coming from a 1:55 and 14:26 guy. I think the all out for the 800, as short as it is, is worse than the long all out for the 5K. Clearly it is a matter of opinion which kind of pain is worse, however...
listen to the master wrote:
The 800 is hardest for the long distance runners. The 5k/10k is hardest for middle distance runners. The marathon is hardest for everyone.
This is the only correct response. There are two types of distance runners out there. The mid-distance who excel at speed based events (800, 1500). Then the long distance runners who excel at more endurance based 5k+ ( it seems the majority of letsrun.com are these type of runners).
From experience (sub 149/sub1350) the 5k is definitely harder. As stated above the 800 is only hard for about 200 meters while the 5k is hard for the whole last mile
the smartest letsrunner wrote:
It's clear that anyone who says the 800 or 400 are easier than the 5000, simply because they're shorter, simply hasn't run a quality 400 or 800 in their life.
800 runner here wrote:Spoken like a guy who's never run a quality 5000 in his life. If you have, you'd know you're on the edge from 3000 on.
As you might have read in my post (in the part that you didn't selectively quote, dimwit), I acknowledged that the 5000 is extremely hard. In fact, you basically paraphrased what I already put much better: "You are in a lot of discomfort from early on, it's not going to end anytime soon, and then you get to kick when you're already deep in oxygen debt."
Did you miss that, you moron? At no point did I say that the 800 is harder - I said they're different, which they obviously are. I also said that calling the 5000 harder on the basis of length alone (as you do) is idiotic and a mark of inexperience.
The most clear thing here is that you've never run a quality 800 OR 5000.
Interesting to see all of the 5/10 specialists chiming in and agreeing with me that the 800 is murderous, isn't it.
Here, I'll agree with you: your 18:30 5000 PR was harder for you than your 2:30 800 PR. Happy now?