Once an idea of what types of times are possible, imagine the types of training that will affect the energy systems responsible for competing at the 800-meter distance. However, although this formula will give a rough race goal, it will not necessarily reflect the per-lap racing strategy. An athlete with a 400-meter best of 45 seconds (Coe) would then be expected to produce times in the 1:42 range (precisely what he accomplished). The faster the athlete races the 400-meter, the more precise the ratio becomes. This formula may be found to be slightly pessimistic for athletes with personal 400-meter bests beyond 54 seconds, but is still relatively accurate. Add these two figures together and you will approximate a race best for any athlete (60.5 + 66.5 = 2:07). Now, do the exact same procedure with this new figure to arrive at the second lap time (60.5 seconds + 6 seconds = 66.5). This is the rough speed of the first lap. To calculate the 800-meter time (per lap) simply take 10 percent of the 400-meter race best time (55 second 400-meter race best = 5.5 seconds) and add that to the race best time (55 seconds + 5.5 seconds = 60.5). The only required information from an athlete with an aerobic base is the 400-meter personal best. The Maria Mutolas, Sebastian Coes and Hazel Clarks of the world have tremendous 400-meter bests and these translate to world-record 800-meter times, but any high school athlete with a 400-meter best that is reasonably sound can develop 800-meter times that can win.įirst, to calculate the rough 800-meter race best for any athlete – male or female – a simple formula is available. To run below 1:53 for boys and 2:14 for girls will require a dramatic speed component not often present in every distance athlete, yet many regional, sectional and state championships are won with times much higher than the elite levels. Later in a career, those 800-meter athletes who are going to continue with racing success will need to be more speed oriented. Regardless, the high school 800-meter race is still 70 to 80 percent aerobic strength and 20 to 30 percent speed. Therefore, not only will 800-meter speed help an athlete draw collegiate attention, it will also help he or she continue a positive direction of racing success in all distance events. Conversely, if a high school athlete has an exposure to the form and rhythm of speed, especially through intense races such as 800 meters, the speed developed or revealed might ensure collegiate success. If a high school coach emphasizes this aspect too early, there isn’t much room for collegiate increases in mileage. Mileage will be added by a collegiate coach as a factor of the athlete’s more advanced training age, the increased distance of the racing in college, and the desire to maximize the physiological adaptations possible through greater training loads. First and foremost, any coach desiring ultimate success beyond high school for his or her distance athletes must realize that the majority of training intensity in a collegiate area will involve additional mileage at higher speeds (i.e., doing all that is possible to raise the speed of the ‘comfort zone’ and also raise the level of endurance at that speed). The 800-meter training has long-range advantages for high school athletes. This can come from either a specific preseason buildup aimed at 800-meter distances or a year-round approach to conditioning involving summer mileage and cross country. To this end, girls or boys interested in the event need only have a desire to run the long sprint coupled with a moderate aerobic background. Beyond high school, the truly successful 800-meter specialists almost always come from a speed background as the physiological racing needs can only be satisfied with a rate of sprint turnover normally beyond that of the distance athlete. The high school 800-meter race is a true ‘hybrid’ event in that virtually any sound athlete has an opportunity to succeed, whether coming from a sprint background or coming from a history of cross country or distance running.
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