Thomas Pain wrote:
My opinion is the 10K is the hardest race. How Bekele ran 4:14 per mile for 6.2 is beyond comprehension.
Whereas running 20.5 for 200m then carrying on is a piece of cake...
Thomas Pain wrote:
My opinion is the 10K is the hardest race. How Bekele ran 4:14 per mile for 6.2 is beyond comprehension.
Whereas running 20.5 for 200m then carrying on is a piece of cake...
In terms of actually being able to accomplish something, it seems that a 9.58 100m is equally as difficult to achieve as a 26:17 10k as only one person has done each. Lets not confuse this aspect of being difficult with what I think the original poster was asking.
I think the nature of the orignal posters question is more in line of how difficult it is for any individual to run at their maximum performance (given what shape they are in and genetics) in an event. IE, is it more difficult for a 9.58 100m runner to run 9.58 or a 26:17 10k runner to run 26:17. I think both the mental challenge of doing it (may be greatest in a sport of strategy), the pain associated with the events (may be greatest in endurance sports), and execution of the movements (hugely important in golf, while the pain aspect is a non-factor) are all factors.
Most of the responses so far are only considering one or two of the factors rather than all three.
When factoring all three, I believe the steeplechase is the most difficult event. Mentally it may be close to any event, pain associated with it may be equal to any endurance event, but the execution of the movements are much more difficult than say running a 10k. I'd give it a very small edge over the 400m hurdles, which may actually be harder in all 3 of the factors. It's very close call for me.
team Unruly Bush wrote:
Or it is for people who aren't fast enough for sprints, and aren't mentally tough enough for distance... like me.
And I always thought it was the 800m dash
I ended up in the 800 because I have the legspeed velocity of a marathoner and the natural endurance of a 100m sprinter.
What I love about the 800 is the number of "shots on goal"(provided you have access to all-comers or a race schedule). Blew the race? Try again tomorrow (or next week).
Do you mean the leg speed of a 100m runner and the endurance of a marathoner?
IanMcCauley wrote:
Do you mean the leg speed of a 100m runner and the endurance of a marathoner?
I hope so. Otherwise track probably isnt your sport lol. Golf maybe? Chess?
The 400 and 800 are the only races where if you're going for time it is advantageous to positive split. That means the second half is guaranteed to be a death match.
All events longer than 60m are either paced to a certain degree &/or deacceleration is managed. Not exactly accurate to state 800m is essentially a sprint.
I think what the disagreeing effort guys are missing is that the 800m tactics make it much higher in mental torture.
Example. 10k is basically endurance. You either have it or you don’t. 800m you could be the fastest in a perfect 800m, but somebody beats you because they had better tactics.
In this regard, the 400m/h and the 10k etc are similar. Usually the “fastest” person will win.
800m not really so. So it’s hard af physically and then mentally it feels like straight battle.
Swaglord wrote:
I think what the disagreeing effort guys are missing is that the 800m tactics make it much higher in mental torture.
Example. 10k is basically endurance. You either have it or you don’t. 800m you could be the fastest in a perfect 800m, but somebody beats you because they had better tactics.
In this regard, the 400m/h and the 10k etc are similar. Usually the “fastest” person will win.
800m not really so. So it’s hard af physically and then mentally it feels like straight battle.
I believe the tactics of the 800m make it more mentally challenging than the 400m hurdles, but the 2 factors of pain and execution of movements make the 400m hurdles overall more "difficult". From a previous point, the 400m hurdles is also a death march, its a benefit to positive split, but the death march includes jumping over objects.
have you heard of the 400H? wrote:
Here is why I think Steeple Chase is harder:
- Its a combination of reasons why 10k is harder and why 400H is harder. You are running at practically vVO2 which means you are jumping over barriers while your legs are heavy and your breathing hard AF.
- More mileage and things to think about. You have to be more aerobically fit than an 800 guy which means longer practices. plus more flexible and able to clear barriers so hurdle drills on top of that.
- The water pit. As if clearing hurdles wasnt already a challenge, now you have to launch yourself far enough to clear a water pit 7x.
You don't have to clear the water pit. The vast majority of runners will land roughly ankle deep in the water.
GGGG wrote:
Thomas Pain wrote:
My opinion is the 10K is the hardest race. How Bekele ran 4:14 per mile for 6.2 is beyond comprehension.
Whereas running 20.5 for 200m then carrying on is a piece of cake...
Bolt could jog 200 in 19.5 and cruise the second 200 in 21.
Good post. I think this whole argument about how the 400 and 800 are the toughest races is somewhat stupid.
Even high school kids say the 400 and 800 are the toughest events.
If the 400/800 is so tough how come there are more people running that event than the 10K?
The 100 has the most intense pain, but it does not last long. The 10K has more overall pain than
shorter events. So your 800 is tough, but not the toughest. They are all tough and deserve respect.
Swaglord wrote:
I think what the disagreeing effort guys are missing is that the 800m tactics make it much higher in mental torture.
Example. 10k is basically endurance. You either have it or you don’t. 800m you could be the fastest in a perfect 800m, but somebody beats you because they had better tactics.
In this regard, the 400m/h and the 10k etc are similar. Usually the “fastest” person will win.
800m not really so. So it’s hard af physically and then mentally it feels like straight battle.
I usually say the longer the event, the more tactics there are. Think of the marathoner. He might need
to prepare for water and bathroom breaks! Those are tactics. Race strategy.
However the race strategy is tough in the shorter events because you cannot make as many mistakes.
It's been said you can only make one in the 800. But really it's how bad that one mistake is. Any tiny mistake
a 100 m guy makes could derail him, no matter how small! In the 10K you could fall down, not recommended but...
There is nothing worse than the 3000 Steeplechase and you will never convince me otherwise.
Until you've almost ruptured your patella on a barrier because you are just so dead tired, you have not truly experienced the pain of the steeplechase. The 400 hurdles are pretty bad too, but when you get tired and slack on a hurdle, it falls over. When you slack on a barrier, you fall over and end up black & blue.
jamin wrote:
The 400 and 800 are the only races where if you're going for time it is advantageous to positive split. That means the second half is guaranteed to be a death match.
I've used 800 as a life/business metaphor. One move, positive split. Think about Dwyane Solomons twilight zone. Rudisha's "If you want to die, follow me." I don't have any experience to let me argue that it most difficult. But it has a beautiful dialogue for strategy, sacrifice, and success.
Heinenkleisner wrote:
jamin wrote:
The 400 and 800 are the only races where if you're going for time it is advantageous to positive split. That means the second half is guaranteed to be a death match.
I've used 800 as a life/business metaphor. One move, positive split. Think about Dwyane Solomons twilight zone. Rudisha's "If you want to die, follow me." I don't have any experience to let me argue that it most difficult. But it has a beautiful dialogue for strategy, sacrifice, and success.
S. Coe only did it once in a competitive championship meet, 1978, European Championship, 800m.
joedirt wrote:
I ran the 400, 400H, 800, 1500, 3000SC, and 5000 in college. By far the most painful was the steeple. Your legs are pretty much shot about a mile in and you still have about a mile to go. Abu Ghraib is less torture.
^^ Correct answer ^^ I raced in all of the above events (minus the 400H) at a fairly high level and the steeple is the toughest without question. Not even close. I still have nightmares about stiff legging the barrier and eating $hit whilst my lungs were exploding and my legs were al dente noodles.
As an 800m runner myself with a best of 1:50 run this season, I would agree that it can be the most physically difficult race due to how long a runner is going anaerobic however I find it to be quite mentally easy. The only "down time" somebody may experience in the race can be between 200 and 550 meters. Everybody is looking for position this first 200 and when they get to the last everybody is about to start kicking which will hurt.
You really are a true wimp. This is an answer that an anorexic distance bunny would say. Uncomfortable for 35 seconds? How about dying for 35 seconds? The 800 produces the highest amount of lactic acid compared to any other event on the track. A 10k you can still breath. Same with 5k and 3k and marathon. And no, you do not go "all out" for 3 minutes. Your argument is severely flawed. The body can only go anaerobic for 48-54 seconds, so there is no such thing as "all out for 3 minutes". The torture you feel in distance is all mental. Taking it up the butt for 14 MINUTES is extreme discomfort as well, but people still do it. Longer races aren't hard, if you are mentally tough. But you are a negative-splitting weakling, so I suppose you think distance running is hard when you have to run even splits for once. I feel sorry for you, epitome of Letsrun loser. This is why America sucks so much in marathoning. People with your loser mentality in the sport.
One of those morans who says a 400m runner could break the 800m wrote:
GGGG wrote:
Whereas running 20.5 for 200m then carrying on is a piece of cake...
Bolt could jog 200 in 19.5 and cruise the second 200 in 21.
Well the season he tried to break the 300 world record (which he didn’t) he ran a 400 in the build up...
21.1 to 200 , 32.6 at 300m. And a last 100m in 13.0.