So in the last part we looked at the types of athletes that may have to train in the 800, now we will go over a bit of how you should train these athletes. Remember that every runner is different and just because they look like they should fit a certain training mode, it may require some trial and error to optimize their training.
Sprinter Types: Not only do these athletes have the physical build of a sprinter, but most importantly they will have the psychology of a sprinter and remembering that will be important. If the sprinter type is doing mainly longer workouts, distance runs, etc., he may become disinterested and upset with the training. I remember reading about a Russian study from a couple decades ago where the scientists took sprinter type 800 runners and put them on a high volume distance program. Not only did they not improve (to be fair, they ran the same times) but the runners noted they did not "feel" as fast despite running the same times. Psychology is a huge part in trying to move a sprinter up in distance. They are far more apprehensive than a distance runner. These athletes should do sprint work (short repetitions) or speed endurance (repetitions up to 300 meters) with the sprinters. For their longer workouts they may run some over distance with JV distance runners doing workouts such as 3x1000 at about 10-15 seconds slower than race pace for each lap which will most likely be mile race pace for your JV runners. Those workouts develop aerobic power and lactate tolerance. Finally, remember to give these runners adequate recoveries in both workouts and training weeks. They are doing more volume than other sprinters, but don't have the training background of most distance runners and can't handle as much as them. Focus on quality over quantity.
Tweener Types: Once again, these guys are a bit rare compared to the other two types but still have to be trained according to their abilities. These guys are jacks of all trades, but won't wow anyone in a sprint workout or distance workout. Like previously stated, these guys are usually pretty tough, and many guys fitting this mold are wrestlers who have a good aerobic background but mainly are strong as a football player and have that same toughness. I like to train these guys with a relatively high volume of specific workouts with intervals ranging from 150-600 meters (and given appropriate recovery). They won't be able to do quite as much volume as the distance runners, but can usually handle quite a bit of quality compared to the sprinter type. Early season they may be able to bang out 10-12x200 at a quick effort (not an all out sprint) with a 100m walk recovery and by mid to late season might be able to run this workout as an 8x200 with 100m walk recovery at 800m race pace. Give these guys a steady distance run once a week up to 30 minutes, and get them in the sprint work days with the distance runners. They may have to do a sprint workout with the sprinters once every other week to be challenged. Remember the toughness of these guys because it goes both ways. They will tell you they can go on when they are hurting and you need to see if they should end their workout or keep going.
Distance Types: Depending on what part of the country you live in, distance types may be the majority or the minority of 800 runners but either way, these guys need to show at least a flash of speed before you decide to put them in the event. Usually, if they aren't at least an alternate in the 4x4, they probably don't have the speed to run the 800. On our boys team, we have had 5 athletes place in the top 3 at the state championships in the past 3 years and all 5 had split no worse than 51 at some point on a 4x4 relay with 2 going under 50 so while distance runners bring in the big aerobic background, you need to have a bit of quickness. Surprisingly though, these distance runners mainly just continued to train as milers/2 milers and their natural speed took over in the shorter events. The bread and butter of these runners are their aerobic "house" as Renato Canova puts it. It is there natural speed that allows them to be great 800 runners. Have one speed workout every 10 days or so while maintaining their distance training and that should be a good enough to keep in touch with the sprint speed. Also, getting these guys in a 4x4 as a few meets will help that as well. Remember, meets (before the championships) are training too!
So that should give you a good overview of how to work with these athletes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
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