Have we officially declared the 800 meters to be the most intensely painful footrace a human can run?

A real 800m is the toughest race out there. The key is that it's a real 800m, not just a schmuck 800m. A schmuck 800m is about as tough as a half azz 5k. A real 800m jostles you from the start and you accelerate almost as hard as a 400m. You approach 400m and you realize how fcking fast you're moving. You get to 500m and you start to feel some burn as realize sht has just started. 600m in you go for it and your balls start to drop. 650m in you start to get some hair on your balls, this is where the men and the boys separate. 700m it's just all for yourself and you need to go into bossmode to defeat the dragon. You finish, amazing, amazing, feeling. Only the bosses run this race.

This guy is right. People on here saying the 800 isnt the toughest have never run it at a high level. When you approach sub 1:50 you learn that it is indeed the toughest race of all the standard distances we have. Distance running is uncomfortable, REAL 800m running is painful.

dial it up wrote:

This guy is right. People on here saying the 800 isnt the toughest have never run it at a high level. When you approach sub 1:50 you learn that it is indeed the toughest race of all the standard distances we have. Distance running is uncomfortable, REAL 800m running is painful.

Wait wait…the last 800 of any race is as fast as you can go. Why would doing an 800 without suffering through 4200 meters of racing before it be easier than the final 800 of a 5k?

Both 800's are all out efforts one has a lot of pain before and during while the other one has pain for about 60 seconds. (and really it's just more discomfort and muscle failure than pain)

exactly like this wrote:

dial it up wrote:

This guy is right. People on here saying the 800 isnt the toughest have never run it at a high level. When you approach sub 1:50 you learn that it is indeed the toughest race of all the standard distances we have. Distance running is uncomfortable, REAL 800m running is painful.

Wait wait…the last 800 of any race is as fast as you can go. Why would doing an 800 without suffering through 4200 meters of racing before it be easier than the final 800 of a 5k?

Both 800's are all out efforts one has a lot of pain before and during while the other one has pain for about 60 seconds. (and really it's just more discomfort and muscle failure than pain)

This guy is right. Anyone who thinks the 800 is the be-all and end-all of distance races obviously doesn't know--or has forgotten--how tough it is when you've already run 4200 or 9200 meters and STILL have to go balls to the wall for ANOTHER 800 because that demon running beside you wants to win just as bad as you do.

You never learned how to warm up properly. If you still have feelings of anxiety about it 10 years later, then how much anxiety did you feel before the races?

That's a symptom of being unprepared for the race.

Let's be honest. I think it's pretty obvious the 811m dash is by far the hardest of them all.

Shawn H wrote:

exactly like this wrote:

Wait wait…the last 800 of any race is as fast as you can go. Why would doing an 800 without suffering through 4200 meters of racing before it be easier than the final 800 of a 5k?

Both 800's are all out efforts one has a lot of pain before and during while the other one has pain for about 60 seconds. (and really it's just more discomfort and muscle failure than pain)

This guy is right. Anyone who thinks the 800 is the be-all and end-all of distance races obviously doesn't know--or has forgotten--how tough it is when you've already run 4200 or 9200 meters and STILL have to go balls to the wall for ANOTHER 800 because that demon running beside you wants to win just as bad as you do.

Ever close your 5k with laps of 51.x and 57.x ??? I didn't think so. Ever even run 57 when fresh? Didnt think so. You are embarrassing yourself with that argument

All races beyond 300 meters hurt the same - at your maximum threshold of pain. If the 5k doesn't hurt as much as the 800 meters then run it faster until it does. Otherwise you are leaving time on the table.

dial it up wrote:

Shawn H wrote:

This guy is right. Anyone who thinks the 800 is the be-all and end-all of distance races obviously doesn't know--or has forgotten--how tough it is when you've already run 4200 or 9200 meters and STILL have to go balls to the wall for ANOTHER 800 because that demon running beside you wants to win just as bad as you do.

Ever close your 5k with laps of 51.x and 57.x ??? I didn't think so. Ever even run 57 when fresh? Didnt think so. You are embarrassing yourself with that argument

THAT argument is ridiculous. I've run 57 in the middle of 10 X 400s. Here's a better argumnent: Have you ever run the 1600 and the 3200, won both of those with a hard effort, and STILL had to run either the open 800 or the 800 leg of a medley relay and won that too? I have, multiple times. If you haven't done that and still want to call my argument "embarassing," you have a lot to learn. EVERY distance race is really hard, and the 800 isn't the toughest. I'd like to know Malmo's opinion on this. I bet he would say that a steeplechase is every bit as tough as the 800. Try running 3000 meters all-out while trying to not clip a hurdle or crash in the water jump. Get real, kids. So you're proud that you run the 800. Good for you.

Actually bud I have, but that was in high school when races were a joke. Ever followed Charles Jock for a lap then tried to kick into an NCAA final?

dial it up wrote:

Actually bud I have, but that was in high school when races were a joke. Ever followed Charles Jock for a lap then tried to kick into an NCAA final?

Races are NEVER a joke when you run them all-out, whether in high school or a world class meet. That statement alone makes you sound like a big pretender. And actually, they are tougher in high school before you really have the experience, training years, and development of pain tolerance behind you. The toughest race I ever ran was my first high school cross country race. Hills galore. I won by two seconds over a previous year's state champion, and I couldn't see straight for ten minutes.

Nope, never followed Charles Jock, either as an athlete or in a race. Never heard of him until you mentioned him now. Sounds like an accomplished guy and I wish him well. But nothing you've said makes the 800 the hardest race. I respect the 800 and anyone who runs it, but no more than I respect the marathon or any hard distance race between the two. Sounds like you're super proud of your 800. Good for you, and I wish you well. Poor argument, but you can still be a good 800 meter guy, and props to you for that.

You show your lack of knowledge of the sport. I never said I didn't respect other distances, hell I respect the 100 meter dash. But that wasn't the question on the thread. I don't mention my past to belittle you, I do it to show that I've run these races at a very high level, thus I have the experience to back up my claims.

As I said before, I don't think the 5k or 10k or marathon or whatever distance you think is the hardest are easy if pushed to max. What I did say is that the longer the race, the more the needle shifts from pain to discomfort. I believe the 400, 800, and 1000 produce the most "pain." The 400 is too short to be the toughest, the 1000 isnt that standard so Im arguing for the 800.

Again, for the reading impaired, an 8k IS DIFFICULT, but it is uncomfortable, the lactic produced in an 800 is painful.

You should have just quit before posting again. We all get it. You are extremely proud of running the 800. But there's no way in hell that running a single 800 all-out is more painful than running an 800 all-out AFTER first running more than that, building up a ton of lactic acid, and THEN running an 800 all-out. Simple math: 1 < (X + 1). I'm done arguing with someone so arrogant and stubborn. But I still respect you as a fellow distance runner, I don't wish to insult you, and stubbornness is an excellent trait for distance runners. Let's just say that as middle-distance runners/distance runners most of us are very familiar with pain and leave it at that.

Actually, it is probably based more on what you are training for and what you (as a runner) are suited to or prefer).

Having gone 46.x, 1:46, 3:57 (way,way,way back in the day- yards, not meters- remember those)- I can say they all hurt lake a MF.

I was never suited for long stuff, so 10K, halfs, and marathons were/are more uncomfortable for me.,

In the last 150m of a 5K you can still breathe. In an 800m you're basically drowning.

Typical runner or sockpuppet wrote:

All races beyond 300 meters hurt the same - at your maximum threshold of pain. If the 5k doesn't hurt as much as the 800 meters then run it faster until it does. Otherwise you are leaving time on the table.

I think it depends on whether we're talking about total pain, or the peak of the pain, but to be honest the races that hurt the most are probably the ones you go out too fast in.

At least with the 800 the pain doesn't last that long.

Never give up, never surrender wrote:

Actually, it is probably based more on what you are training for and what you (as a runner) are suited to or prefer).

Having gone 46.x, 1:46, 3:57 (way,way,way back in the day- yards, not meters- remember those)- I can say they all hurt lake a MF.

I was never suited for long stuff, so 10K, halfs, and marathons were/are more uncomfortable for me.,

Good point. One day a few wrestlers joined the rest of us distance runners for a few 400 repeats. They seemed inexplicably cocky. We kicked their asses. They looked like total wimps. Then they asked us to go to the mats. We thought we were in great shape compared to these guys. I'm sure you know the outcome. Tons of respect for wrestlers after that. Mutual respect from everyone involved. They weren't trained for 400 repeats. We weren't trained for wrestling. Real pain doesn't come from what you are well-trained to do, but rather than doing all-out what you are not trained to do.

The thing about the 5K distance on up is that they are fun to race. Before I look forward to the race, during the race will hurt, but then after I am happy.

But the 800 is different. There is a sense of dread for a few days before, then there is the utter shit storm of the event, and then after the race I am angry and filled with hate for weeks. I once ran an 800 and the smoldering hate was so intense that I microwaved and ate my friend's pet guinea pig.

exactly like this wrote:

Wait wait…the last 800 of any race is as fast as you can go. Why would doing an 800 without suffering through 4200 meters of racing before it be easier than the final 800 of a 5k?

Both 800's are all out efforts one has a lot of pain before and during while the other one has pain for about 60 seconds. (and really it's just more discomfort and muscle failure than pain)

So all of those hundreds of 5K, 10K, cross country, half marathon, marathon races...I just wasn't giving my FULL effort for those events.

But it was the handful of 800 meter races that I ran, THOSE are the races that I actually ran correctly and pushed myself to my full ability? I must be a natural 800 expert.