Running Mile and 800 metres,                        Road Races

Results for the sub 4 min

1 Mile Programme         800m Programme

The 800 metre race came about due to the English mile, and it is believed it was born in England during the 14th century.

At the first professional competitions, races were contested over 880 yards, or half a mile. In 1876, Walter Slade improved what can be regarded as the first world record at the distance three times, taking it down to 1:58. The first acknowledged master of the discipline was the American, Melvin Sheppard, a double Olympic champion in 1908 at London over 800 and 1500m.

In 1962, Peter Snell made his mark on the distance when he shattered the world record with 1:44 on grass in Christchurch ! Wottle won the 1972 Olympics with 1:44.3

The sub 4 min Mile

Iffley road running track

Time	Athlete	Date	Venue
3:59.4	Roger Bannister (GBR)	06.05.54	Oxford
3:58.0	John Landy (USA)	21.06.54	Turku
3:57.2	Derek Ibbotson (GBR)	19.07.57	London
3:54.5	Herb Elliot (AUS)	06.08.58	Santry, Bublin
3:54.4	Peter Snell (NZL)	27.01.62	Wanganui
3:54.1	Peter Snell (NZL)	17.11.64	Auckland
3:53.6	Michel Jazy (FRA)	09.06.65	Rennes
3:51.3	Jim Ryan (USA)	17.07.66	Berkeley, Cal.
3:51.1	Jim Ryan (USA)	23.06.67	Bakersfield, Cal.
3:51.0	Filbert Bayi (TAN)	17.05.75	Kingston
3:49.4	John Walker (NZL)	12.08.75	Göteborg
3:48.95	Sebastian Coe (GBR)	17.07.79	Oslo
3:48.8	Steve Ovett (GBR)	01.07.80	Oslo
3:48.53	Sebastian Coe (GBR)	19.08.81	Zürich
3:48.40	Steve Ovett (GBR)	26.08.81	Koblenz
3:47.33	Sebastian Coe (GBR)	28.08.81	Bruxelles
3:46.32	Steve Cram (GBR)	27.07.85	Oslo
3:44.39	Noureddine Morceli (ALG)	05.09.93	Rieti
3:43.13	Hicham El Guerrouj (MOR)	07.07.99	Rome

The 800m Sprint

The 800m is now regarded as an endurance sprint and although less intense than the 400m, it is a much more suffering event. To a certain extent, on a single lap of the track, the athlete goes all out without holding anything back. The 800 metre runner has to be able to concentrate his efforts until the right moment. Many 400m runners will disagree with this statement

To predict an athlete's 800m time use this test

The athlete must run two controlled maximal efforts of 60 seconds with a recovery of 3 minutes. The total distance covered by the two runs is recorded.

Tactics are critical in shorter races, such as the 800m

The 800m demands tactics beyond that of the 400m. One must not remain trapped in the pack, making the move at the right time is critical. Too fast on the first lap and after 600m your legs will not wish to go any further.

It is now open to a wide range of athletes, those moving up from the 400m, formidable for their burst of speed towards the end of a tactical race, and those moving down from 5 and 10k distances.

However, the one characteristic a future record holder is that they must have raw speed. An 800m runner must now be capable of running well below 50sec for 400m, as he may well be asked to run through the first lap of the 800m in 50 sec with ease.

How much faster can the 800m be run?

Rank	Time	Athlete	Country	Date
01	1.41.11	Wilson Kipketer	DEN	24.08.97
02	1.41.73	Sebastian Coe	GBR	10.06.81
03	1.41.77	Joaquim Cruz	BRA	26.08.84
04	1.42.28	Sam Koskei	KEN	26.08.84
05	1.42.34	Wilfrid Bungei	KEN	08.09.02
06	1.42.47	Yuriy Borzakovskiy	RUS	24.08.01
07	1.42.55	André Bucher	SUI	17.08.01
08	1.42.58	Vebjřrn Rodal	NOR	31.07.96
09	1.42.60	Johnny Gray	USA	28.08.85
10	1.42.62	Patrick Ndururi	KEN	13.08.97
11	1.42.69	Hezekiél Sepeng	RSA	03.09.99
12	1.42.69	Japheth Kimutai	KEN	03.09.99
13	1.42.79	Frederic Onyancha	KEN	31.07.96
14	1.42.81	Jean-Patrick Nduwimana	BDI	17.08.01
15	1.42.85	Norberto Téllez	CUB	31.07.96
16	1.42.88	Steve Cram	GBR	21.08.85
17	1.42.89	Mbulaeni Mulaudzi	RSA	05.09.03
18	1.42.91	William Yiampoy	KEN	08.09.02
19	1.42.97	Peter Elliot	GBR	30.05.90
20	1.42.98	Patrick Konchellah	KEN	24.08.97

Sebastian Coe

Seb Coe is regarded by many to be the most gifted of middle distance runners the world has ever seen. With eight world records and two Olympic gold medals during his career, Sebastian Newbold Coe is one of the greatest.

Although he was born in Chiswick, London (on September 29 1956), Coe grew up in Sheffield and considers it his home. Coe began his running career at the age of 12 when he joined Sheffield's Hallamshire Harriers. Between studies at Tapton and Abbeydale Grange Schools, the teenage Coe won county and schools championships at 3000m, 1500m and cross country.

In 1973 his coach Peter predicted that by 1980 his son would slice five seconds off the 1500m world record. In fact Coe sensationally broke three world records, including the 1500m, in 1979 in just 41 days: the 800m and mile in Oslo and the 1500m in Zurich. This meant Coe was the first man in more than 50 years to set world records at both 800m and 1500m. The following July Coe added the 1000m record to his list in Oslo, making him the holder of four world records simultaneously.

In 1981 Coe broke records again at 800m, 1000m and the mile, bringing his total to eight. His 800m world record of 1:41:73, set in Florence on June 10 1981, remained unbroken until 1997. At the 1984 Olympics Coe set an Olympic record at 1500m and took silver in the 800m. And at the European Championships in 1986, Coe won gold in the 800m and silver in the 1500m.

The 1000m record broken by Coe in 1981 is believed by many to be one of the best middle distance runs of all time. Roger Banister held the mile record for just over one month, before John Landy broke it on June 21 1954 and held it for three years, yet everyone remembers Roger Banister and not John Landy!

A simple test to discover whether an 800m runner has a weakness is to compare the flat 400m time to the average lap times in the 800m. If we take Coe's best 400m time of 47secs and compare it to his average 400m time set in his world record of 1:41.73, we see that he ran two laps just under four seconds a lap slower than his best for 400m. If we do the same with Juantorena, we discover that the differential is just under 7.5secs. If he had possessed Coe's endurance, the world 800m record would now be 1:36.52! And the same if Coe had possessed Juantorena's speed.

Although Jim Ryan held the scholastic mile record for 36 years and promised much, he may only be remembered by a few. There is always someone around to break the world record but they can not take away an Olympic medal. Many world record holders do not win gold and are forgotten.

Training programme

The 800m is 60% Aerobic, therefore your training must take this into account.

The winter training should be Aerobic only therefore you can follow the 5km Programme.

WINTER
1	Run 18km at half marathon Pace
2	3 x 2km @ 5km pace, with 90secs rest.
3	Run 18km at half marathon Pace
4	Rest
5	34 x 500 @ 5km pace with 30 secs rest between.
6	Run 18km at half marathon Pace
7	Rest

There is no training quicker than 5km pace in the winter.

Summer or Start, 10 weeks before race.
	Morning	Evening
1	Between 6 & 7 miles every morning, easy.	8 miles easy
2		20 x 200
3		10 x 400 with 1min rest,  @ mile pace
4		8 miles easy
5		7 x 800 @ 3km pace
6		4 x 150 + 3 x 300 + 2 x 400
7		10 x 100 strides

The above may only be done after the base training, ie winter programme. The base training should be a minimum of 5 months, to build endurance. A true programme would work back from race day and show a 10 week programme. The above is an example of what one of those weeks would look like.

Any programme should be written for an individual, taking into account

• His/ her current endurance and speed
• The specific natural speed of the athlete, as the athlete may be a sprinter (400m) or longer distance runner (3000m).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fitness Holiday