600 and 800

If you’re just looking for a very rough guess I would say 1:24-1:27, but I may be off with that.

Agreed w/Alex

The only thing equivalent to running sub 2:00 in the 800 is running sub 2:00 in the 800. Having said that I would agree that a time of 1:25 in the 600 indicates that you *should* be able to run sub 2, but that depends on your aerobic power and conditioning.

Like KW said, it’s tough to tell but in most cases a 1:25 would do it.

A 600 equivalent to a sub-2 800 depends on what kind of runner you are. I know that i was a 2 flat runner in the 800 and ran 1:26 in the 600. but i come more from speed, running a 50 quarter. The 1:25 that everyone’s saying is probably a good estimate.

Just for future reference, the 600 and 800 are not sprints………I’m moving this to the endurance section.

Actually when run properly the 800 is a long sprint

Earl Jones and Joaquim Cruz routinely came through 400 meters in under 50 seconds…

[i]Originally posted by KW[/i]
Actually when run properly the 800 is a long sprint

Earl Jones and Joaquim Cruz routinely came through 400 meters in under 50 seconds…

I hear that a lot but there are probably only about 5 people a year who can honestly say that they run it that way.

I would consider both races to be hybrid events which require skills from both genres.

It depends on the skill level……a 2::20-2:40 high school half mile isn’t a sprint….it’s more like middle distance due to the greater aerobic demand from running longer.

And middle distance is fairly even on the aerobic vs. anaerobic contributions. It also depends on the fitness levels or aerobic capacity of the individual running the race and as Mike mentioned the energy system utilization is directly related to the duration of the run. No matter how you dice it, the 800 brings about extremely high amounts of acidosis which must be dealt with over a very long period of time. So, the implications for training are that you definitely need some aerobic base, but you also have to work on lactic acid tolerance to go with aerobic and anerobic power. You can’t run it well without endurance and you can’t run it well without sprint ability.

In my book, unpublished of course, the 800 is a sprint. I hate seeing this event classified as an edurance event, when 95% of the competitive season you are training speed and speed endurance.

middle distance would probably be the most accurate term

Metabolic cost of 800m are 65% anaerobic and 35% aerobic.

[i]Originally posted by danimal9[/i]
Metabolic cost of 800m are 65% anaerobic and 35% aerobic.

Not for a 2:20 800m! The longer you run the greater the aerobic contribution.

Mike, you must hate the great 8.

a 2:20 will make it what roughly 55-57% anaerobic? You do realize the 100m is about 5% aerobic, probably to take care of all the other bodily functions besides locomotion. I don’t know why I even question you.

From my understanding the 200m is roughly 5% aerobic. All this means is that 5% of the energy used in the race comes from O2 consumed after the start of the race.

What has happened to all the 800m runners. Several years ago so many with potential in the USA but butkus since. With all the great quarter milers in this country you would think we could come up with some world class half milers.

Mike is right about the aerobic v. anaerobic demands. It depends on the duration of the run and on the aerobic capacity of the runner as well.

Many coaches rely on slow runners to make 800 men or women. Too many 1600/800 instead of 800/400. They think it is a distance event and it is not, almost all of the competitive season should be spent on the track. Lots of reasons for the decline, but mainly it is bad coaching decisions.

To me the perfect 800 runner would be fast enough to run the 400 and have enough endurance to run the 1500 well also. You have to first learn how to run fast comforatably and then learn how to run really fast uncomfortably.

It takes an aggressive person who can tolerate high levels of lactate and the associated pain that accompanies it. I’m not convinced that it’s as much speed as some would think or the top 400 runner could be the top 800 runner as well, but without that big time 400 ability, you can find yourself running to make up ground constantly.

KW, aggressiveness is the key trait that I look for in an 800 runner as well. It is also why I like my best 800 person to lead off the 4×4 relay. This year that is not the case, but most years it is.