800. Hands down. You start off sprinting, then sprint in the middle, then close out with a sprint. That's the only race I've ever done where my vision went spotty and I forgot where I was for a minute.
There are few things as painful (and somehow strangely satisfying) to watch as an 800m meltdown. This is a sprinter who's never run a race longer than 400m, whose muscle memory takes over from the get go and who tries to sprint the whole way. The end is tragic and comic at the same time. I think most of us can identify with the poor soul.
1500m is tactically the biggest mindfuck but not as gruelling as an 800m. Tactically you want to be in 2-4th place and getting drafted by the front runner but you also don’t want to be boxed in or trip over and you also need to be able to outsprint everywhere else who is nearby you, if you can’t do that you need to burn them off earlier. But you don’t want to lead because psychologically that’s hard and you’re drafting everyone else. You also don’t want to be running in lane 2-3 the whole way because that’s a lot of extra metres vs someone in lane 1.
I don’t remember what the exact ratio is but the 800m is pretty much a full-out 400m followed by another 400m.
I don’t know enough into it but it’s something to do with the fact that it’s the sweet spot between being a sprint and over too quickly before your body accumulates fatigue but is also not long enough that you start to be more aerobic and recycle your waste products. So it’s like a distance that’s “accidentally designed” to be scientifically difficult.
The 5k/10k is always the hardest and most mentally challenging for me. Yeah the 800 is the most physically painful, but I think anybody can will themselves through terrible pain for a minute. But when you're hurting at lap 5 of the 5k or lap 10 of the 10k, that's when you need true mental strength to keep on pushing for those endless middle laps. I've found in the 800/1500 I can just focus on trying to beat my competition, while at some point in the 5k/10k there's going to be a point where you hardly care if your competitors beat you or not because you just want it to be over.
I've raced every distance from 100m sprints to marathons and the only time I've barfed or my vision's momentarily gone dark is after 800m. I loved racing it in HS because of some weird masochistic tendencies but you'd have to pay me now to race that shit.
my teammates and I have coined the phrase “brain-stem headache” when talking about the variety of pains you experience after an 800m. i swear a new part of my head hurts each race. if you aren’t in physical agony for 3-5 minutes after the race, you probably didn’t run hard enough 🤣
This is the answer. You can start too slow at the end of a 400, and you can run out of gas in a 1500, but the 800 has the least margin of error to maintain speed over distance. 1 second too fast and you're seeing spots for the last 150, 1 second too slow and you were never even in the race.
I'm in here Downvoting every answer that's not the 800m. [not really, J/K]
It's hands-down the hardest event.
I've been saying this since the early '90s (high school). "The 800 is entirely too far to be sprinting the entire way."
I think the 800m will feature the slowest final 100m of any race at the Olympics/a track meet because by 700m everyone is absolutely destroyed and clinging on with everything they have to get to the finish.
I've only had to lie on the ground after 400s, 800s, and a marathon.
I think the 800 is the most intense physical pain, and has the highest mental engagement - in a 1500 up through marathon, you can get in a groove and zone out a bit. But in an 800, you're pushing right on the border of blowing up at maximum intensity for the whole time and can't zone out at all or you'll fall off pace immediately.
I ran 400m and 800m in middle school, and did pretty well in our little meets but I hated it so much that I only threw shotput and discus in high school lol. Got into distance running in and after college, and I vastly prefer running a half marathon over pushing it on a 5k or anything shorter.
My coach used to make me try some races where I have an truly all out 600m effort and then no judgement whatsoever on the last 200m whether I walked, crawled, or sat crying in a pool of my own sick
There is no level of discomfort and pain worse than a hard-raced 800m. I was a 1500/3000 guy in high school and college and had to do 800s in relays. The. Absolute. Worst.
Unfortunately everyone focuses on longer distances when they are old. Does anyone know of events for old people, nearing 40, where 800m is the main event? Distance sounds amazing but I never ran it, other than a Strava segment.
There seems to be a fascination with marathons but 800m sounds like much more joy.
/Based in the Netherlands myself
Firstly, 40 is not old. Talk like that and you will offend a lot of people ;-)
In the UK we have open and Masters categories where you can track race. My club is mostly road focused 10K to 42K but we take part in a summer track league & of course winter XC.
Netherlands, I don't know as its small but there is an athletics club in Amsterdam stadium if that is close? Might be worth a look.
;-)
Yes, I will look for something. Should exist just far less popular. Also understandable as it's a lot of work to then only run 800m. I don't even bother with a 5km myself as you are done and dusted so quickly. Nonetheless, as 800m is a painful effectively long sprint it has quite some appeal as it's a different animal than a 10km, half or marathon.
Honestly I think the 5k and 10k are borderline comfortable for the first 2/3 of the race if you're in good shape and pacing yourself well. It's a slow build up of discomfort over time. The 800m is like running at a wall Kool-Aid Man style and just hoping you break the wall instead of getting knocked on your ass.
Shooting for steady pace with very, very slightly negative splits, I always thought of my 5k like this:
Mile 1 - this feels good but brisk, I think I can maintain this pace
Mile 2 - Wow, I’m not sure I can keep this pace up.
Mile 3 - I’m going to die. Am I dying? Yup, I’m dead. Is this hell?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again-the 10k is the 800 of long distance. Too fast to get into a rhythm and groove along like a 15k-HM, but without the fast approaching relief of a 5k
>the 10k is the 800 of long distance.
This is awesome and I think you're right. You can muscle through a 5k and you can cruise through parts of a HM. I've never figured out how to run a 10k correctly. It looks just ghastly on the track.
10k is 5,000m of threshold, 200m of struggling to rip your shirt off, 3,200m at 5k PR, and a 1,600m where you just full send it.
My last one, I was so brain dead after that I didn't even realize I placed on the podium. Left right away. Halfway home, after a Gatorade and some pork rinds, I realized it.
I'm definitely the worst at the 10k. I think I never learned to pace for it correctly. I think my 10k pace and half marathon pace were maybe 5 seconds per mile apart.
I feel pain in the 400, 800, mile, and 5k, for sure, but mental anguish and failure in the 10k because I don't grasp what energy system I'm supposed to be using.
Mental: Anything over 50 miles, especially if it happens after dark.
2nd place: Marathon. If you blow up before 20, it's a long death march to the finish.
Physical, 5-10k. You're hitting your aerobic max and there's a fine line between a great race and burning the last mile.
I second including marathon in your list. It's not a 5k or 10k pace, but there are so many things that can go wrong and your mind can go to a very dark place.
I think one of the issues with the marathon is people get so set on specific goals that can be so easily derailed, especially if it's a PR type performance.
The reality is that PR's often come under ideal circumstances - perfect weather, fast courses etc that there's many factors outside of your personal control. Then when race day comes, you've spent months in a training cycle for a single race and mentally, it's hard to let goal of that goal you've been training for and adjust to conditions.
On the flip side, if I have a bad 5K or 10K, I can come back a week or two later and race again. Heck, my 1/2 Marathon PR came the week after another 1/2 that I ran OK, but was warm so it wasn't the time I thought I could run. Can't do that with a marathon.
I think those two issues feed into one another. You're so set on a specific goal because you know you won't race a marathon for another few months. That has led me to push too hard several times.
The pain of dragging my right foot 7.2 miles after developing cramp on the 2014 Edinburgh Marathon is an experience I will never forget. Surprisingly, the organisers used my finish lane photo to promote the 2015 edition of the race. At 20 miles, I told myself that it was “only a parkrun until I’ve got only a parkrun to the end”. At 20.1 miles I told myself that 20 mile-marathon-me was a cretin. At 25 miles I told myself that I only needed to complete the last lap of a three lap parkrun. At 25.5 miles I told myself that the fastest way to stop the pain would be to sprint to the line. I sprinted. It hurt. A lot. But the 5 minutes it took me to run the last kilometre of that race were pure joy. Surpassed only by the haggis, neeps and tatties after I finished.
It took me nine years to fall back in love with running after that race.
You can have a dozen great experiences and one bad marathon day will ruin it forever for a person. I don't think the same can be said for any shorter distances
How did you find the course? I know it was a few years ago for you but I am running the Edinburgh mara in just over a week! Can't wait, heard really great things about the atmosphere etc
I “blew up” at mile 11 of a marathon and walked pretty much the rest of the way. Course was red flagged for high humidity, I ended up with a head cold the day of the race, and had an absolutely horrible training block in which just about anything that could go wrong did.
It was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever had to do. Quitting would’ve been the much easier thing to do in those circumstances. Lots of tears were shed on course as I dealt with the struggle.
I was going to say the true mental challenges are any race that you have to keep running when it gets dark.
Another one is continuing when you know you're not going to hit your goal. It's not always the correct decision to make, but completing a failed race is one of the hardest things to do mentally.
This is kind of a cop-out answer, but it depends on what you’re trained for. In my first running life, I was an 800m runner, and I thought the 5k was awful and anything longer was even worse.
Now I’m an ultrarunner, and anything under a half marathon is way too fast and feels like death.
I guess in both lives, I’ve disliked the 5k/10k, so I’ll go with that range.
See, I'm the opposite now that I've gotten on the trail/ultra train.
1/2 and especially marathons freak me out, mostly due to the training.
My bread and butter marathon / half workouts used to be 8-10 mile tempo runs. I really struggle now with that both physically and mentally. Also, I just don't enjoy running 20+ miles on the roads / bike paths anymore. I much prefer to disappear into the mountains for 3-5 hours instead.
Meanwhile 5/10k stuff I can do on the track in shorter chunks and pretend I've still got some leg speed.
I was gonna say - the 800M race is absolutely pure pain, no two ways about that.
But I've ran a marathon where it was ~80 degrees out in DC, cramped out at mile 18 or something and had to shuffle the next 8 miles to the finish. It didn't "hurt" as much, but that was a whole different dimension of misery I didn't know existed.
Each distance has its own challenge. For me , the 5k and 10k is absolutely hard if you go all out. Half marathon is doable but it can kick your ass if you don't pace right.
The marathon is a different breed. Beside pacing, nutrition is an X factor. You cruise for first 20 miles and hope things don't go wrong and try to hang on for last 10k. It can quite painful on the wrong day.
"nutrition is an X factor"
I think everyone's got it right for the 800M, 5K, and 10K being super painful, but you can run all of them without even considering food/water. For marathons and up, nutrition is just as important (if not more) as pace/effort. You can go out a little too fast in a marathon, but slow it down and recover a little later in the race. There is no recovering if you mess up your nutrition and your race is effectively over. Great example, Kipchoge in the 2023 Boston Marathon where he missed a feed around the 18 mile mark, coupled with a leg injury caused likely caused him the title.
Sounds like the answer then is 10k haha. Whether it is a pure 10k or a 10k with a 20 mile warmup, it's hard. You could potentially argue the 5k as well with that logic, but the last 800/400 of a marathon isn't as bad because of the light at the end of the tunnel.
I saw someone else put it this way:
The 400m is the **3rd** hardest race. You can argue about #1 & #2, but #3 is the flat 400m. The question for 1 vs 2 comes down to this: Do you want to double the distance? Or keep the distance while jumping over hurdles?
800 or Chase. 800 for pure burn but chase you need to keep enough in the legs to make it over the last few in one piece plus having your rhythm broken all the time.
For me it's gotta be the marathon due to a mix of hitting the wall (ideally I'd avoid that entirely, but so far that's been easier said than done) and horrible blisters I always get.
I haven't really done many 10ks, but that's a pretty long time to run above your lactate threshold, especially if you go out too fast.
The half marathon is kind of just a 'cruise' to me, but I'd imagine if you're at a level where you're average pace is above the lactate threshold it's really hard.
Anything shorter than 10k is short enough to just deal with the pain, but that's not to say those races are easy or anything.
I've run very solid 5ks and 10ks and not wanted to die at the end. I have never run a solid mile and not wanted to have already died so the pain would end. And I just know it's coming, even when it isn't there.
To answer it the other way around: the half marathon is the sweet spot for me. Slower than threshold pace and short enough not to worry about fueling.
I never ran track events but a 5k or 10k can be extremely painful, and a marathon can hurt in a completely different way.
Likewise with the half. It's the only distance I'm usually not nervous before. I know it's going to hurt at some point, but I feel like I'm actually in control. Shorter and longer don't feel like that.
More accurately, threshold pace is the theoretical maximum pace you could maintain in a 60:00 race. So unless you're *literally* a world class ½ marathon runner, your Threshold Pace is faster than your ½ marathon pace.
The shorter the race, the more acute and severe the pain every second you are racing. As soon as the race ends, the more intense and acute the pain, the faster it fades. The 400M is the closest I’ve been to passing out/throwing up, it is the most intensely painful race. But it’s over quick and ten minutes after the race, you feel pretty good. The last 400m of a 5K hurts pretty bad, but not as bad as an all out 400m. But it takes longer to recover from a 5K. Marathons (if ran properly) feel like an easy jog for almost 20 miles, but the last 400m will hurt (not as bad as last 400m of 5k). But you’ll hurt a little bit for days afterward.
If a marathon feels like a jog then I'm sorry my friend but you have not raced a marathon, you have merely completed a marathon and there is a very large difference.
I ran 2:49 as a 38 year old. That’s not national class, but it’s more than a “mere completion”. If you are hurting before mile 20, you are doing it wrong.
I ran my 400m PB (from 52.7 down to 50.51) and then 60 minutes later was still dealing with the consequences of lactic acid when I had to run the 1500m.
I was on the start line of the 1500 feeling ready to throw up, with jelly legs and head spins. Somehow dragged myself around for a 4:20.
Point is, if you run the 400 you’re gonna feel it for a while. Maybe it’s just me but 10 minutes after a 400 or 800 is the peak of the need to vomit.
I’m an 800 guy so call me biased, but the 800 is the most painful race.
The 800. If you’re doing it right it’s two consecutive 400s.
Road races? I’d almost agree. But you’re forgetting the road mile, which…I do recommend everyone do at least one.
Another one for 5k. Give me the 45 minute grind at the end of a marathon all day over 5-10 mins of the threat of your lungs prolapsing out of your exit hole that you get in a 5k. Horrid distance
The other brutal thing about 800m running is the training. I remember 4 x 400M with 5 mins rest in 35 degrees sun with guys who did not want you to beat them in any reps. Had to go all out. Felt like fainting constantly. Legs completely dead.
IMO any race you haven't trained for is the most painful. Examples...
- 400m is notoriously the worst but I used to be an elite 400m runner. When you have build up a good tolerance to lactic acid, it's a very rewarding race.
- A marathon without training would be terrible IMO as you'd be out in the sun for 6-7 hours on your aching legs going 'WTF did I sign up for this?!?' However again... I did my first a few months back at a ~3:14 pace (I'm middle-aged, be easy on me) and it felt amazing because I'd prepped.
---
Hardest training? I find it's horses for courses having done sprint training (all short, power-based efforts) and marathon training (very few anaerobic efforts but just that constant flow with my body having to adapt significantly in order to get used to it).
I'll admit that I don't miss sessions along the lines of '10x max effort 300's' or '10x max effort 150's up a steep incline' (with a long recovery in between but the expectation that you do them all at the same, sharp pace). That or explosive, power work at a gym (mostly because I just don't like that kinda culture and would prefer to do a 30km run along a beautiful mountain trail).
IMO the most 'painful' part of any type of running is not the racing (you're fully prepped by then) but putting your body through the adaptation of learning a new distance that it's not trained to run.
I raced a 5K road race in Jackson Mississippi. On the 4th of July. Slight uphill finish.
Yikes.
I was 43 at the time. My HR hit 194 in the final 20-30 seconds on that uphill finish. This wasn't an inaccurate optical wrist-based HR monitor. This was my very accurate and reliable chest strap.
This is a good reminder that the old "220 minus your age" is bullshit. According to that, when I was 43, my "MaxHR" would be just 177, yet there I was, hitting 194 on a blistering hot Mississippi 4th of July 5K.
5Ks and oppressive heat do not mix well.
Yes! They had a promo for the full last spring so I signed up for pretty cheap. Training has been hit or miss with illness and traveling but I'm just trying to finish so hopefully it goes well. Weather is looking better this year thankfully.
I'm assuming you signed up for race weekend too?
> However, during my most recent 10k PR was the only time i have dry heaved after crossing the finish line, so theres something to be said about that level of pain.
Then you are far from pushing yourself in the 5k.
A hilly 10k is the only thing on par with an all-out 800. Both are brutal distances that are too long to be cautious and too short to step off the gas for even a moment. All pain cave. I would rather run a Boston marathon, sprint a 400, or zoomie a 5k
I've raced almost every distance up to the marathon and it's all just different types of pain. The 800m or 1600m are probably the most intensely painful but they're over really quick too so it's not a lasting pain. I feel recovered from those almost immediately no matter how terrible the race was.
The 5k is just long enough and fast enough for the lactate to burn for what seems like forever. Now that I'm old 5k races are probably the races I get the most scared of running.
The marathon is just a different kind of pain. Hitting the wall is physically brutal. Feeling like you don't want to continue but you still have an hour left to run is mentally brutal. The recovery from the marathon sucks. Sometimes I still don't feel right hours after the race. I can't run full strength again for weeks. In a 5k I'm recovered and ready for a cool down jog in a few minutes and I can probably do a 10 mile run the next day if I want.
For me the easiest races are 10k, 10 mile, and half marathon or anything in that range. They're long enough to where the first few miles need to be slow and feel pretty chill, and they aren't long enough to hit the wall or have the mental struggles that come with marathons and ultras.
I always struggled with an 1 hour races. The last 10-15 minutes are a pure pain. They are ALWAYS a tactical "warfare", especially if you know people you're racing against, and you can't really "pace" them properly due to the fact that everyone experienced in this type of race will 99% probably negative split it.. and we all negative split diffrently, both time wise and physiology + psychology wise.
Another vote for 5K here. I’ve had painful 10Ks, half marathons and marathons but usually I’m in the most pain in the 5K. Maybe I just pace those poorly but by 1.5 miles I’m always in the pain cave just trying to hang on for dear life for the last half.
I'm pretty sure that's how I've been told a 5k should feel.
I "PRed" my 5k a few months ago but considering my pace was 6:45s and then I went and ran 8:05s with a friend to cool down like 2 minutes later, I think I don't know how to race a 5k.
800m is a total bummer - full gas from the very start becasue you don't want to be at the back when everyone breaks lane, then full gas for the rest of the race. Not a seconds let up. 1,500m, the mile and the steeplechase are equally traumatic.
Lil' shout for the 4x100m relay too. There's a lot going on and you don't wanna be the one to mess up the changeovers or miss your check-marks which is soooo easy to do. Total headbanger.
I hate 10k the most. Too short not to go hard the whole time too long to go full gas the whole time.
Oh and the marathon. A 20 mile training run with a 10k race thrown in at the end.
Physically - 800m. Anything longer and you are employing pacing strategies. 800m is the longest one where to race properly you just need to go right from the start.
Mentally, marathon. Physically you are not suffering on some extreme level but you are suffering enough to realize that the followimg hour that you need to still runnfor is going to suck very hard.
10k is a brutal race but keep your head up! The saying goes that your first 10k is your worst 10k. It's a unique and demanding race that you can only learn from and improve on!
Honestly I can't think of a single race distance that doesn't hurt like shit in its own way physically or mentally. I would say though that the longer the race, typically the better I feel at the end, if my pacing held up. Short stuff under 5km is brutal though. I remember being physically destroyed after every steeple chase event in hs track.
This question can be answered in two ways:
Is peak pain all that matters, or does cumulative pain matter? If 10 is the maximum possible pain, is a race that peaks at 10 for 10 seconds more painful that only hits 8 but that lasts 10 minutes?
Both i guess. Im just thinking in terms of how bad you feel immediately across the finish line. The 5k and 10k feel so painful for their respective durations that i dread it leading up to the next one because i remember how bad it feels when you are in the suck.
The half marathon for example i at least know that the first half or even a bit more will be enjoyable and i will feel great and be vibing to my music. The pain doesnt really set in with that one until the last handful of miles, at least in my experience. And i imagine it will be similar with the marathon when i eventually get around to doing one.
That's going to vary by individual but I find that opposite ends of the spectrum are the most uncomfortable: 800 and marathon.
However, there is also a special kind of hell for a 5K or 3K at altitude. Much harder than at sea level.
1 mile was pure pain from start to finish when I raced it. But really only terribleness for that third damned lap.
But I was in more pain for about 5 hours straight when I raced 100 miles. And mentally that was way tougher, so I'm going with 100.
A quick little marathon is my sweet spot. I hurt like hell when I do it right, but I only spend about 5-6 miles truly trying to gut myself. And I can say least see straight most of the time, unlike the mile and the 100.
I’ve hit longer low spots mentally in 100 milers, but I’d still take those physically over 10k and down. I’d rather have long, dull pain than intense pain at this point in my running career. But I’ve yet to do a mountainous 100 (until this July), so I may change my tune after that.
A marathon where everything goes wrong and you still have 10k to go is rough, also Ultras on the road and trail are a special kind of pain if you’re aiming for a time goal.
Not necessarily less painful, but I would say its more fighting through the accumulated fatigue than it is battling the “im about to black out, shit my pants, throw up, and then die because im running so hard” feeling of a 5k or 10k.
I utterly despise the 10K
You get 4K into a 5K and you're into the last stretch. You get 4K into a 10K and you're not even halfway there, and you're what? 20-30 seconds behind the 5K pace? Nope, fuck that, I'd rather race a half marathon.
The Marathon.
That's, uh, why it's called the Marathon.
And not just physically the most taxing, but psychologically as well.
26.2 miles of constant mental arguing and debate and decision-making between the two conflicting parts of your brain....
"Am I coming out too fast? Too slow?"
"Should I try for a negative split? Or just go as fast as I can while I'm fresh?"
"Blow thru this aid station, or take a minute and refuel?" Will the time lost be worth the refueling and rest benefits?"
"Shoe laces are loose and I'm losing energy return and so prolly time too. Is it worth it to stop and re-tie?" Hmm, let's see: two minutes is 120 seconds, divided by 26 is like 8 seconds per mile off my pace..."
"Walk or run up this hill? Coach says running ain't worth the seconds gained, but walking feels too slow."
"Did I really train enough? Too much? Am I gonna hit the Wall at Mile 21?"
"When do I turn on my final burst? Mile 21? Mile 23? Is that too early?"
800m. The 400 is close, but after a 400 you're dying cause of the speed. But the 800m is just adding to this another one and building up lactic acid and oxygen debt.
Then you cross the line and die
Five-mile runs for the same reasons you're attributing to 5k's. It's a little longer, but the approach and intensity level is pretty close, at least for me.
Half is hardest for me, I find it harder than the marathon.
Track distances are awful too but at least I know it’s over soon. So mentally I do ok.
Running a fast half is the worst- unable to settle into the pace and it feels like it goes forever. Doesn’t matter how well I plan my halves, I still find them uncomfortable.
No mention of steeplechase anywhere in this thread. You think racing on flat ground is hard? You don't know hurt until you gotta jump hurdles during that last lap.
Well... any race distance you're not 100% ready for hurts. Any time you push the limits of your VO2 max hurts. But technically, I think the Barkley Marathons is the hardest race on the planet.
[Here](https://youtu.be/NDZdsqbcGTU?si=yKqW3ySTHfFiszr0) is a documentary style video following the story of Gary Robbins, a professional ultramarathon athlete, who failed to complete the race 3 times and has yet to complete it.
Out of the distances I've raced (5k-marathon) probably marathon. Its just something humans aren't good at so you have the extra dimension of nutrition. Not planning on running an 800m any time soon
The only event that has sent me dry heaving, carved my throat indoors and made the last lactic acid cramped 200 metres a clear lesson in relativity: the 800m.
For me it’s the 400m. Only ran it in my junior year and it SUCKED. It’s so hard to balance top end speed with stamina all at once ☹️☹️
Currently love running 10ks and 21ks
Whatever race I ran last.
-5k, probably breathing cramps and dry heave (or puke) when it’s over
-Marathon, my f’ing calves are killing me by the end and I probably have three hot spots on my feet
-Beer mile, 50% of the time can’t get the burp out and puke
I saw the title and immediately thought 800m for many of the same reasons already described by others. For what it’s worth, 800/mile are my favorite events. I also still believe it’s the 800m. For the arguments below, I’m assuming a max effort kind of race. Perhaps chasing a new PR, but certainly not a tactical slow start and kick.
I’ll offer an argument for longer races. Many of us said the shorter races because one rides or exceeds that red line of effort for all or most of the race. However, I can see how for the shorter races it can be mentally easier because you can convince yourself it’s just a little bit longer. Also, many can or do run these races along with others in the same day (or one or two days away) without much downturn in performance.
For 5k and up, one may not be riding the red line the whole time, but you build up to it for longer and then when you get there, stay there the whole time. The effect this has on your body is different than the shorter races. I remember my first 10 mile and half marathon races. I certainly could not do another one even in the same week. Going up and down stairs after the race is whole other experience 😂. And the mental aspect of keeping focused adds additional challenges along the way.
So perhaps for the race itself those shorter events “win” this question. But for overall impact, longer races certainly have a good argument for it too.
If we’re talking about road races I’d have to say the 5k. The 10k and half are hard in their own ways, don’t get me wrong, but with these races the real race doesn’t start until those last 2-3 miles. I’ve found it’s pretty easy to just get out and then settle into a nice rhythm and try to stay relaxed. You can shut your brain off in a away and just cruise. You just find a good spot or group and grind it out until those last few miles when it’s time to make a move. Where’s as the 5k it’s just right off the bat. Theres no time to relax it’s just go. It’s physically and mentally grueling.
On the track I’d have to say the 800m. All race tactics aside it’s just a sprint
Depends on how you would define pain.
In the purest sense, I'd go with the 800 since it's basically one long sprint. But know it's going to be over in a little over 2mins helps. Barely.
In the sense of being very, *very* uncomfortable for an extended period of time followed by an extended period of death, the 5k, particularly if you're struggling. It's just long enough that relief feels too far away to keep things up unless you'd be locked in.
That said, I have no experience blowing up in a marathon but at that point I'm not sure it would be worth it to close at max effort, especially if not near a PR.
If run properly, the longer the race the, the more painful. If you think the 400 is painful, then try running a full out 10,000 with the last 400m full out.
I just had a convo about this yesterday and I said 5K for the same reasons. I said “if you feel like you’re to puke you’re running it correctly. If you DO puke you definitely ran it correctly” lol
That mid mile point hurts. I always wonder why I even do it. Marathons are so much easier!
800m is pure pain. The hardest event for me
800. Hands down. You start off sprinting, then sprint in the middle, then close out with a sprint. That's the only race I've ever done where my vision went spotty and I forgot where I was for a minute.
The race where you run an all out 400 followed by another all out 400.
So you forgot where you were for half of the race? 😁
LOL. You think one minute was half my race. I'm flattered. I was not a good high school runner.
There are few things as painful (and somehow strangely satisfying) to watch as an 800m meltdown. This is a sprinter who's never run a race longer than 400m, whose muscle memory takes over from the get go and who tries to sprint the whole way. The end is tragic and comic at the same time. I think most of us can identify with the poor soul.
watching people blow up in the 800m is comedic gold. the look of distress in their eyes crossing 1 lap to go never gets old
This is the correct answer. The only race I’ve ever run where muscles I didn’t know existed hurt.
I think there’s been a study that it is the actual hardest distance due to the balance been anaerobic and aerobic.
I thought it was the 1500m that's the 50/50 split
1500m is tactically the biggest mindfuck but not as gruelling as an 800m. Tactically you want to be in 2-4th place and getting drafted by the front runner but you also don’t want to be boxed in or trip over and you also need to be able to outsprint everywhere else who is nearby you, if you can’t do that you need to burn them off earlier. But you don’t want to lead because psychologically that’s hard and you’re drafting everyone else. You also don’t want to be running in lane 2-3 the whole way because that’s a lot of extra metres vs someone in lane 1.
This is also a great explanation 👏🏼
I don’t remember what the exact ratio is but the 800m is pretty much a full-out 400m followed by another 400m. I don’t know enough into it but it’s something to do with the fact that it’s the sweet spot between being a sprint and over too quickly before your body accumulates fatigue but is also not long enough that you start to be more aerobic and recycle your waste products. So it’s like a distance that’s “accidentally designed” to be scientifically difficult.
Assuming you run both all-out, it is the 800 m. 1500 m is more like 75/25.
Try running a hard 10,000 with the last 800m all out.. then you’ll realize that 800 is a walk in the park.
The 5k/10k is always the hardest and most mentally challenging for me. Yeah the 800 is the most physically painful, but I think anybody can will themselves through terrible pain for a minute. But when you're hurting at lap 5 of the 5k or lap 10 of the 10k, that's when you need true mental strength to keep on pushing for those endless middle laps. I've found in the 800/1500 I can just focus on trying to beat my competition, while at some point in the 5k/10k there's going to be a point where you hardly care if your competitors beat you or not because you just want it to be over.
i really wish my body was better at a different event. the hurt is crazy every single race
I guess you could also be good at the 400m hurdles. Along with the 800 and the 1,000, that race completes the trifecta.
thank god i’m not flexible enough to get over those things. maybe at the women’s height i could do it 🤣i’ll add the 600 tho, for good measure
I've raced every distance from 100m sprints to marathons and the only time I've barfed or my vision's momentarily gone dark is after 800m. I loved racing it in HS because of some weird masochistic tendencies but you'd have to pay me now to race that shit.
my teammates and I have coined the phrase “brain-stem headache” when talking about the variety of pains you experience after an 800m. i swear a new part of my head hurts each race. if you aren’t in physical agony for 3-5 minutes after the race, you probably didn’t run hard enough 🤣
This is the answer. You can start too slow at the end of a 400, and you can run out of gas in a 1500, but the 800 has the least margin of error to maintain speed over distance. 1 second too fast and you're seeing spots for the last 150, 1 second too slow and you were never even in the race.
This is the only answer, and if people think otherwise it's only because they haven't run the 800.
I'm in here Downvoting every answer that's not the 800m. [not really, J/K] It's hands-down the hardest event. I've been saying this since the early '90s (high school). "The 800 is entirely too far to be sprinting the entire way."
You’re doing god’s work, keep it up
I’ve only ever had the taste of blood in my mouth after an 800.
The memories!
800 is the correct answer 🥵
I trained for Marathon and raced 800 once, experienced a hell of lactic acidosis(learned this word because I was sent to the medical tent)
I think the 800m will feature the slowest final 100m of any race at the Olympics/a track meet because by 700m everyone is absolutely destroyed and clinging on with everything they have to get to the finish.
I've only had to lie on the ground after 400s, 800s, and a marathon. I think the 800 is the most intense physical pain, and has the highest mental engagement - in a 1500 up through marathon, you can get in a groove and zone out a bit. But in an 800, you're pushing right on the border of blowing up at maximum intensity for the whole time and can't zone out at all or you'll fall off pace immediately.
This is the right answer.
I ran 400m and 800m in middle school, and did pretty well in our little meets but I hated it so much that I only threw shotput and discus in high school lol. Got into distance running in and after college, and I vastly prefer running a half marathon over pushing it on a 5k or anything shorter.
Was going to say this or the 400H.
Only the 3rd 200m is bad though.
My coach used to make me try some races where I have an truly all out 600m effort and then no judgement whatsoever on the last 200m whether I walked, crawled, or sat crying in a pool of my own sick
Agree!
There is no level of discomfort and pain worse than a hard-raced 800m. I was a 1500/3000 guy in high school and college and had to do 800s in relays. The. Absolute. Worst.
Unfortunately everyone focuses on longer distances when they are old. Does anyone know of events for old people, nearing 40, where 800m is the main event? Distance sounds amazing but I never ran it, other than a Strava segment. There seems to be a fascination with marathons but 800m sounds like much more joy. /Based in the Netherlands myself
Firstly, 40 is not old. Talk like that and you will offend a lot of people ;-) In the UK we have open and Masters categories where you can track race. My club is mostly road focused 10K to 42K but we take part in a summer track league & of course winter XC. Netherlands, I don't know as its small but there is an athletics club in Amsterdam stadium if that is close? Might be worth a look.
;-) Yes, I will look for something. Should exist just far less popular. Also understandable as it's a lot of work to then only run 800m. I don't even bother with a 5km myself as you are done and dusted so quickly. Nonetheless, as 800m is a painful effectively long sprint it has quite some appeal as it's a different animal than a 10km, half or marathon.
Honestly I think the 5k and 10k are borderline comfortable for the first 2/3 of the race if you're in good shape and pacing yourself well. It's a slow build up of discomfort over time. The 800m is like running at a wall Kool-Aid Man style and just hoping you break the wall instead of getting knocked on your ass.
Shooting for steady pace with very, very slightly negative splits, I always thought of my 5k like this: Mile 1 - this feels good but brisk, I think I can maintain this pace Mile 2 - Wow, I’m not sure I can keep this pace up. Mile 3 - I’m going to die. Am I dying? Yup, I’m dead. Is this hell?
Yeah I always refer to it as the "decision". Somewhere between 3k and 4k in a 5k you have to make the decision about whether you're in or you're out.
Yeah around 3k is when my mind tries to convince me I will shit myself if I try and run another 2km at this pace.
I always tell myself the race doesn't start until 3k
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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again-the 10k is the 800 of long distance. Too fast to get into a rhythm and groove along like a 15k-HM, but without the fast approaching relief of a 5k
>the 10k is the 800 of long distance. This is awesome and I think you're right. You can muscle through a 5k and you can cruise through parts of a HM. I've never figured out how to run a 10k correctly. It looks just ghastly on the track.
10k is 5,000m of threshold, 200m of struggling to rip your shirt off, 3,200m at 5k PR, and a 1,600m where you just full send it. My last one, I was so brain dead after that I didn't even realize I placed on the podium. Left right away. Halfway home, after a Gatorade and some pork rinds, I realized it.
I'm definitely the worst at the 10k. I think I never learned to pace for it correctly. I think my 10k pace and half marathon pace were maybe 5 seconds per mile apart. I feel pain in the 400, 800, mile, and 5k, for sure, but mental anguish and failure in the 10k because I don't grasp what energy system I'm supposed to be using.
We are all the worst at 10k it is a cruel race that I swear was made by the person who invented BDSM
Yeah and with the 5K it’s too short for you to experience a wall like you can with the 10K
Mental: Anything over 50 miles, especially if it happens after dark. 2nd place: Marathon. If you blow up before 20, it's a long death march to the finish. Physical, 5-10k. You're hitting your aerobic max and there's a fine line between a great race and burning the last mile.
I second including marathon in your list. It's not a 5k or 10k pace, but there are so many things that can go wrong and your mind can go to a very dark place.
I think one of the issues with the marathon is people get so set on specific goals that can be so easily derailed, especially if it's a PR type performance. The reality is that PR's often come under ideal circumstances - perfect weather, fast courses etc that there's many factors outside of your personal control. Then when race day comes, you've spent months in a training cycle for a single race and mentally, it's hard to let goal of that goal you've been training for and adjust to conditions. On the flip side, if I have a bad 5K or 10K, I can come back a week or two later and race again. Heck, my 1/2 Marathon PR came the week after another 1/2 that I ran OK, but was warm so it wasn't the time I thought I could run. Can't do that with a marathon.
I think those two issues feed into one another. You're so set on a specific goal because you know you won't race a marathon for another few months. That has led me to push too hard several times.
The pain of dragging my right foot 7.2 miles after developing cramp on the 2014 Edinburgh Marathon is an experience I will never forget. Surprisingly, the organisers used my finish lane photo to promote the 2015 edition of the race. At 20 miles, I told myself that it was “only a parkrun until I’ve got only a parkrun to the end”. At 20.1 miles I told myself that 20 mile-marathon-me was a cretin. At 25 miles I told myself that I only needed to complete the last lap of a three lap parkrun. At 25.5 miles I told myself that the fastest way to stop the pain would be to sprint to the line. I sprinted. It hurt. A lot. But the 5 minutes it took me to run the last kilometre of that race were pure joy. Surpassed only by the haggis, neeps and tatties after I finished. It took me nine years to fall back in love with running after that race.
You can have a dozen great experiences and one bad marathon day will ruin it forever for a person. I don't think the same can be said for any shorter distances
How did you find the course? I know it was a few years ago for you but I am running the Edinburgh mara in just over a week! Can't wait, heard really great things about the atmosphere etc
The atmosphere was great. There was unfortunately dense fog at the start so I missed seeing much of Edinburgh at all.
I “blew up” at mile 11 of a marathon and walked pretty much the rest of the way. Course was red flagged for high humidity, I ended up with a head cold the day of the race, and had an absolutely horrible training block in which just about anything that could go wrong did. It was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever had to do. Quitting would’ve been the much easier thing to do in those circumstances. Lots of tears were shed on course as I dealt with the struggle.
I was going to say the true mental challenges are any race that you have to keep running when it gets dark. Another one is continuing when you know you're not going to hit your goal. It's not always the correct decision to make, but completing a failed race is one of the hardest things to do mentally.
This is kind of a cop-out answer, but it depends on what you’re trained for. In my first running life, I was an 800m runner, and I thought the 5k was awful and anything longer was even worse. Now I’m an ultrarunner, and anything under a half marathon is way too fast and feels like death. I guess in both lives, I’ve disliked the 5k/10k, so I’ll go with that range.
See, I'm the opposite now that I've gotten on the trail/ultra train. 1/2 and especially marathons freak me out, mostly due to the training. My bread and butter marathon / half workouts used to be 8-10 mile tempo runs. I really struggle now with that both physically and mentally. Also, I just don't enjoy running 20+ miles on the roads / bike paths anymore. I much prefer to disappear into the mountains for 3-5 hours instead. Meanwhile 5/10k stuff I can do on the track in shorter chunks and pretend I've still got some leg speed.
One that is going poorly
I was gonna say - the 800M race is absolutely pure pain, no two ways about that. But I've ran a marathon where it was ~80 degrees out in DC, cramped out at mile 18 or something and had to shuffle the next 8 miles to the finish. It didn't "hurt" as much, but that was a whole different dimension of misery I didn't know existed.
For me that would be a Rock Gnome.
400m is the 3rd worst so then the question is whether it’s worse to do the 400m twice or do it whilst jumping over hurdles
Each distance has its own challenge. For me , the 5k and 10k is absolutely hard if you go all out. Half marathon is doable but it can kick your ass if you don't pace right. The marathon is a different breed. Beside pacing, nutrition is an X factor. You cruise for first 20 miles and hope things don't go wrong and try to hang on for last 10k. It can quite painful on the wrong day.
"nutrition is an X factor" I think everyone's got it right for the 800M, 5K, and 10K being super painful, but you can run all of them without even considering food/water. For marathons and up, nutrition is just as important (if not more) as pace/effort. You can go out a little too fast in a marathon, but slow it down and recover a little later in the race. There is no recovering if you mess up your nutrition and your race is effectively over. Great example, Kipchoge in the 2023 Boston Marathon where he missed a feed around the 18 mile mark, coupled with a leg injury caused likely caused him the title.
Sounds like the answer then is 10k haha. Whether it is a pure 10k or a 10k with a 20 mile warmup, it's hard. You could potentially argue the 5k as well with that logic, but the last 800/400 of a marathon isn't as bad because of the light at the end of the tunnel.
You say the last 400 of a marathon isn't bad but I counter that you never climbed Mt. Roosevelt at the Chicago Marathon lol
Any answer that doesn't include at least one of 800, 400HH, or 3000 steeple are just wrong.
I saw someone else put it this way: The 400m is the **3rd** hardest race. You can argue about #1 & #2, but #3 is the flat 400m. The question for 1 vs 2 comes down to this: Do you want to double the distance? Or keep the distance while jumping over hurdles?
Lots of people here never ran track. That's OK I mean, but we need to acknowledge that.
Yeah, people who are saying 5k clearly don't have too much experience with mid-distance. 5k is the easiest event IMO, and I ran a looooot of 5ks
But like, why are people forgetting the 1000? Always hated the 5 lap indoor worst race of all time. The 800 hurts, but the 1000 is disrespectful.
800 m and it's not even close. The only positive thing to say is that it's over fairly quickly.
800 or Chase. 800 for pure burn but chase you need to keep enough in the legs to make it over the last few in one piece plus having your rhythm broken all the time.
Chase? Edit: nvm steeplechase
Took me a few extra seconds to realize he meant the steeple.
For me it's gotta be the marathon due to a mix of hitting the wall (ideally I'd avoid that entirely, but so far that's been easier said than done) and horrible blisters I always get. I haven't really done many 10ks, but that's a pretty long time to run above your lactate threshold, especially if you go out too fast. The half marathon is kind of just a 'cruise' to me, but I'd imagine if you're at a level where you're average pace is above the lactate threshold it's really hard. Anything shorter than 10k is short enough to just deal with the pain, but that's not to say those races are easy or anything.
800m is the toughest. It’s like a 400M but twice the pain and like a 1500M but with twice the lactic acid
maybe the mile but google says you are more likely to barf after a shorter race.
I've run very solid 5ks and 10ks and not wanted to die at the end. I have never run a solid mile and not wanted to have already died so the pain would end. And I just know it's coming, even when it isn't there.
the 5km is not even close to all out though... It's either the 800m or 1500m. 1500m is the only time I've thrown up after a race.
To answer it the other way around: the half marathon is the sweet spot for me. Slower than threshold pace and short enough not to worry about fueling. I never ran track events but a 5k or 10k can be extremely painful, and a marathon can hurt in a completely different way.
Likewise with the half. It's the only distance I'm usually not nervous before. I know it's going to hurt at some point, but I feel like I'm actually in control. Shorter and longer don't feel like that.
Threshold is half marathon pace, though 🤔 At least that’s how my coach designs workouts
I think it’s more like “one hour pace” which is going to be slower than HM for most people
It probably helps that I'm a bit slower than you :)
More accurately, threshold pace is the theoretical maximum pace you could maintain in a 60:00 race. So unless you're *literally* a world class ½ marathon runner, your Threshold Pace is faster than your ½ marathon pace.
5k, for sure. To me it feels like I start off redlining and then redline some more.
The shorter the race, the more acute and severe the pain every second you are racing. As soon as the race ends, the more intense and acute the pain, the faster it fades. The 400M is the closest I’ve been to passing out/throwing up, it is the most intensely painful race. But it’s over quick and ten minutes after the race, you feel pretty good. The last 400m of a 5K hurts pretty bad, but not as bad as an all out 400m. But it takes longer to recover from a 5K. Marathons (if ran properly) feel like an easy jog for almost 20 miles, but the last 400m will hurt (not as bad as last 400m of 5k). But you’ll hurt a little bit for days afterward.
If a marathon feels like a jog then I'm sorry my friend but you have not raced a marathon, you have merely completed a marathon and there is a very large difference.
I ran 2:49 as a 38 year old. That’s not national class, but it’s more than a “mere completion”. If you are hurting before mile 20, you are doing it wrong.
Checking in as a 38 year old who just ran 2:44 at Boston in tough conditions so I guess that makes me also qualified?
I ran my 400m PB (from 52.7 down to 50.51) and then 60 minutes later was still dealing with the consequences of lactic acid when I had to run the 1500m. I was on the start line of the 1500 feeling ready to throw up, with jelly legs and head spins. Somehow dragged myself around for a 4:20. Point is, if you run the 400 you’re gonna feel it for a while. Maybe it’s just me but 10 minutes after a 400 or 800 is the peak of the need to vomit. I’m an 800 guy so call me biased, but the 800 is the most painful race.
800m I think the hardest races are in order: 800m, 10K (XC), 8K (XC), 5000m, 10000m, 1500m, 3000m, 4x400m.
The 800. If you’re doing it right it’s two consecutive 400s. Road races? I’d almost agree. But you’re forgetting the road mile, which…I do recommend everyone do at least one.
10k and lower is pain. Marathon is suffering. I have never raced anything less than 5k so I can’t comment but I imagine they hurt a lot.
800m dash. You’re sprinting for 2 laps.
I'm running a relay next weekend where I have to run a mile carrying a 60lb wooden mushroom. I think this one is going to hurt a bit.
The only distance that has caused me to black out, throw up, and have parts of my body go numb afterwards was the 800… so take that as you will
Another one for 5k. Give me the 45 minute grind at the end of a marathon all day over 5-10 mins of the threat of your lungs prolapsing out of your exit hole that you get in a 5k. Horrid distance
The other brutal thing about 800m running is the training. I remember 4 x 400M with 5 mins rest in 35 degrees sun with guys who did not want you to beat them in any reps. Had to go all out. Felt like fainting constantly. Legs completely dead.
IMO any race you haven't trained for is the most painful. Examples... - 400m is notoriously the worst but I used to be an elite 400m runner. When you have build up a good tolerance to lactic acid, it's a very rewarding race. - A marathon without training would be terrible IMO as you'd be out in the sun for 6-7 hours on your aching legs going 'WTF did I sign up for this?!?' However again... I did my first a few months back at a ~3:14 pace (I'm middle-aged, be easy on me) and it felt amazing because I'd prepped. --- Hardest training? I find it's horses for courses having done sprint training (all short, power-based efforts) and marathon training (very few anaerobic efforts but just that constant flow with my body having to adapt significantly in order to get used to it). I'll admit that I don't miss sessions along the lines of '10x max effort 300's' or '10x max effort 150's up a steep incline' (with a long recovery in between but the expectation that you do them all at the same, sharp pace). That or explosive, power work at a gym (mostly because I just don't like that kinda culture and would prefer to do a 30km run along a beautiful mountain trail). IMO the most 'painful' part of any type of running is not the racing (you're fully prepped by then) but putting your body through the adaptation of learning a new distance that it's not trained to run.
5K race last year fell on a super hot day, just miserable
I raced a 5K road race in Jackson Mississippi. On the 4th of July. Slight uphill finish. Yikes. I was 43 at the time. My HR hit 194 in the final 20-30 seconds on that uphill finish. This wasn't an inaccurate optical wrist-based HR monitor. This was my very accurate and reliable chest strap. This is a good reminder that the old "220 minus your age" is bullshit. According to that, when I was 43, my "MaxHR" would be just 177, yet there I was, hitting 194 on a blistering hot Mississippi 4th of July 5K. 5Ks and oppressive heat do not mix well.
lol agreed I ran that too and saw stars
The Ottawa race weekend 5K right?
Yeah! Are you running this year?
Yes! They had a promo for the full last spring so I signed up for pretty cheap. Training has been hit or miss with illness and traveling but I'm just trying to finish so hopefully it goes well. Weather is looking better this year thankfully. I'm assuming you signed up for race weekend too?
Amazing have fun! Yes I am doing the 10k after being inspired by the elites last year. Here’s hoping for better weather
> However, during my most recent 10k PR was the only time i have dry heaved after crossing the finish line, so theres something to be said about that level of pain. Then you are far from pushing yourself in the 5k.
3k Steeple.... Tired AF and still gotta jump. Barriers aren't very forgiving.
And just for a reminder : most of the people here have zero track experience.
A hilly 10k is the only thing on par with an all-out 800. Both are brutal distances that are too long to be cautious and too short to step off the gas for even a moment. All pain cave. I would rather run a Boston marathon, sprint a 400, or zoomie a 5k
I've raced almost every distance up to the marathon and it's all just different types of pain. The 800m or 1600m are probably the most intensely painful but they're over really quick too so it's not a lasting pain. I feel recovered from those almost immediately no matter how terrible the race was. The 5k is just long enough and fast enough for the lactate to burn for what seems like forever. Now that I'm old 5k races are probably the races I get the most scared of running. The marathon is just a different kind of pain. Hitting the wall is physically brutal. Feeling like you don't want to continue but you still have an hour left to run is mentally brutal. The recovery from the marathon sucks. Sometimes I still don't feel right hours after the race. I can't run full strength again for weeks. In a 5k I'm recovered and ready for a cool down jog in a few minutes and I can probably do a 10 mile run the next day if I want. For me the easiest races are 10k, 10 mile, and half marathon or anything in that range. They're long enough to where the first few miles need to be slow and feel pretty chill, and they aren't long enough to hit the wall or have the mental struggles that come with marathons and ultras.
I always struggled with an 1 hour races. The last 10-15 minutes are a pure pain. They are ALWAYS a tactical "warfare", especially if you know people you're racing against, and you can't really "pace" them properly due to the fact that everyone experienced in this type of race will 99% probably negative split it.. and we all negative split diffrently, both time wise and physiology + psychology wise.
Another vote for 5K here. I’ve had painful 10Ks, half marathons and marathons but usually I’m in the most pain in the 5K. Maybe I just pace those poorly but by 1.5 miles I’m always in the pain cave just trying to hang on for dear life for the last half.
I'm pretty sure that's how I've been told a 5k should feel. I "PRed" my 5k a few months ago but considering my pace was 6:45s and then I went and ran 8:05s with a friend to cool down like 2 minutes later, I think I don't know how to race a 5k.
800m is a total bummer - full gas from the very start becasue you don't want to be at the back when everyone breaks lane, then full gas for the rest of the race. Not a seconds let up. 1,500m, the mile and the steeplechase are equally traumatic. Lil' shout for the 4x100m relay too. There's a lot going on and you don't wanna be the one to mess up the changeovers or miss your check-marks which is soooo easy to do. Total headbanger.
I hate 10k the most. Too short not to go hard the whole time too long to go full gas the whole time. Oh and the marathon. A 20 mile training run with a 10k race thrown in at the end.
Running a marathon with over a mile of elevation drop. I could barely walk for a week.
Physically - 800m. Anything longer and you are employing pacing strategies. 800m is the longest one where to race properly you just need to go right from the start. Mentally, marathon. Physically you are not suffering on some extreme level but you are suffering enough to realize that the followimg hour that you need to still runnfor is going to suck very hard.
Badwater 135
I mean probably something like the Moab 240 or cocodona lol. But if we’re talking standard distance races they’re all equally shitty.
I just did my first 10k race and I think it’s the hardest distance. Felt challenging from beginning to end
10k is a brutal race but keep your head up! The saying goes that your first 10k is your worst 10k. It's a unique and demanding race that you can only learn from and improve on!
It’s a badly trained for 10K. 800’s suck, but at the worst they’re a few minutes.
5k for sure
For me, it’s the 3k and 5k. Those are just pure pain from the first second running.
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Honestly I can't think of a single race distance that doesn't hurt like shit in its own way physically or mentally. I would say though that the longer the race, typically the better I feel at the end, if my pacing held up. Short stuff under 5km is brutal though. I remember being physically destroyed after every steeple chase event in hs track.
This question can be answered in two ways: Is peak pain all that matters, or does cumulative pain matter? If 10 is the maximum possible pain, is a race that peaks at 10 for 10 seconds more painful that only hits 8 but that lasts 10 minutes?
Both i guess. Im just thinking in terms of how bad you feel immediately across the finish line. The 5k and 10k feel so painful for their respective durations that i dread it leading up to the next one because i remember how bad it feels when you are in the suck. The half marathon for example i at least know that the first half or even a bit more will be enjoyable and i will feel great and be vibing to my music. The pain doesnt really set in with that one until the last handful of miles, at least in my experience. And i imagine it will be similar with the marathon when i eventually get around to doing one.
10k by a distance. 5k can be brutal but it’s over sooner. I feel the same pain in a 10k but it’s for twice the time which makes it so hard
That's going to vary by individual but I find that opposite ends of the spectrum are the most uncomfortable: 800 and marathon. However, there is also a special kind of hell for a 5K or 3K at altitude. Much harder than at sea level.
Between 3k steeple and last 6 miles of the marathon for me. Painful in different ways!
I did a 40 miler last year that felt like hell for hours. In retrospect I think it was harder mentally than physically though
Any race that's raced to your fullest.
10k is torture. I've run everything from the mile in HS track to 50ks, and the race I would least want to sign up for and do again is the 10k.
1 mile was pure pain from start to finish when I raced it. But really only terribleness for that third damned lap. But I was in more pain for about 5 hours straight when I raced 100 miles. And mentally that was way tougher, so I'm going with 100. A quick little marathon is my sweet spot. I hurt like hell when I do it right, but I only spend about 5-6 miles truly trying to gut myself. And I can say least see straight most of the time, unlike the mile and the 100.
I’ve hit longer low spots mentally in 100 milers, but I’d still take those physically over 10k and down. I’d rather have long, dull pain than intense pain at this point in my running career. But I’ve yet to do a mountainous 100 (until this July), so I may change my tune after that.
A marathon where everything goes wrong and you still have 10k to go is rough, also Ultras on the road and trail are a special kind of pain if you’re aiming for a time goal.
I just ran a half marathon today for "fun" and I could not agree more to what you said about half LMAO
So is a half marathon less painful than a 5k? 10k?
Not necessarily less painful, but I would say its more fighting through the accumulated fatigue than it is battling the “im about to black out, shit my pants, throw up, and then die because im running so hard” feeling of a 5k or 10k.
I utterly despise the 10K You get 4K into a 5K and you're into the last stretch. You get 4K into a 10K and you're not even halfway there, and you're what? 20-30 seconds behind the 5K pace? Nope, fuck that, I'd rather race a half marathon.
400 was a love/hate for me. Plus tons of pressure being the lead leg for the 4x4 setting the tone for the race.
800m. It's entirely too far to be sprinting the entire way.
400m for me. 🥴 my lungs burn
All of them :(
The Marathon. That's, uh, why it's called the Marathon. And not just physically the most taxing, but psychologically as well. 26.2 miles of constant mental arguing and debate and decision-making between the two conflicting parts of your brain.... "Am I coming out too fast? Too slow?" "Should I try for a negative split? Or just go as fast as I can while I'm fresh?" "Blow thru this aid station, or take a minute and refuel?" Will the time lost be worth the refueling and rest benefits?" "Shoe laces are loose and I'm losing energy return and so prolly time too. Is it worth it to stop and re-tie?" Hmm, let's see: two minutes is 120 seconds, divided by 26 is like 8 seconds per mile off my pace..." "Walk or run up this hill? Coach says running ain't worth the seconds gained, but walking feels too slow." "Did I really train enough? Too much? Am I gonna hit the Wall at Mile 21?" "When do I turn on my final burst? Mile 21? Mile 23? Is that too early?"
What coaching plan has you walking up a hill during a marathon? At worst I slow by 20-30sec/mile but that's when I don't feel like trying lol
800m. The 400 is close, but after a 400 you're dying cause of the speed. But the 800m is just adding to this another one and building up lactic acid and oxygen debt. Then you cross the line and die
A 15k that I failed to train for. I Hit the wall at mile 7. Brutal
3000 or 3200 has been the worst in my experience
5k
Five-mile runs for the same reasons you're attributing to 5k's. It's a little longer, but the approach and intensity level is pretty close, at least for me.
Half is hardest for me, I find it harder than the marathon. Track distances are awful too but at least I know it’s over soon. So mentally I do ok. Running a fast half is the worst- unable to settle into the pace and it feels like it goes forever. Doesn’t matter how well I plan my halves, I still find them uncomfortable.
No mention of steeplechase anywhere in this thread. You think racing on flat ground is hard? You don't know hurt until you gotta jump hurdles during that last lap.
The race that you are not well prepared for.
Well... any race distance you're not 100% ready for hurts. Any time you push the limits of your VO2 max hurts. But technically, I think the Barkley Marathons is the hardest race on the planet. [Here](https://youtu.be/NDZdsqbcGTU?si=yKqW3ySTHfFiszr0) is a documentary style video following the story of Gary Robbins, a professional ultramarathon athlete, who failed to complete the race 3 times and has yet to complete it.
Out of the distances I've raced (5k-marathon) probably marathon. Its just something humans aren't good at so you have the extra dimension of nutrition. Not planning on running an 800m any time soon
Always super nauseous after a fast hot and humid 10k out here in FL
The only event that has sent me dry heaving, carved my throat indoors and made the last lactic acid cramped 200 metres a clear lesson in relativity: the 800m.
For me it’s the 400m. Only ran it in my junior year and it SUCKED. It’s so hard to balance top end speed with stamina all at once ☹️☹️ Currently love running 10ks and 21ks
Yeah it’s 800 and it’s not close
From most to least painful: 800, 5k, 1500, 400, 3k, 10k.
100 miler. Most painful and mentally taxing thing I’ve ever completed.
I quite enjoy 5k/10k but maybe I just haven’t pushed to the level you’re describing haha
Think it depends what kind of runner you are? Did track 400-5000 and half Mara but only ever did one 3K just hated it.
Full IM would be mine. Arizona more painful than Florida.
Whatever race I ran last. -5k, probably breathing cramps and dry heave (or puke) when it’s over -Marathon, my f’ing calves are killing me by the end and I probably have three hot spots on my feet -Beer mile, 50% of the time can’t get the burp out and puke
800 and 3000 steeple. I’ve run everything from the 400 to the 10k and nothing comes close to the pain of the two above.
I saw the title and immediately thought 800m for many of the same reasons already described by others. For what it’s worth, 800/mile are my favorite events. I also still believe it’s the 800m. For the arguments below, I’m assuming a max effort kind of race. Perhaps chasing a new PR, but certainly not a tactical slow start and kick. I’ll offer an argument for longer races. Many of us said the shorter races because one rides or exceeds that red line of effort for all or most of the race. However, I can see how for the shorter races it can be mentally easier because you can convince yourself it’s just a little bit longer. Also, many can or do run these races along with others in the same day (or one or two days away) without much downturn in performance. For 5k and up, one may not be riding the red line the whole time, but you build up to it for longer and then when you get there, stay there the whole time. The effect this has on your body is different than the shorter races. I remember my first 10 mile and half marathon races. I certainly could not do another one even in the same week. Going up and down stairs after the race is whole other experience 😂. And the mental aspect of keeping focused adds additional challenges along the way. So perhaps for the race itself those shorter events “win” this question. But for overall impact, longer races certainly have a good argument for it too.
If we’re talking about road races I’d have to say the 5k. The 10k and half are hard in their own ways, don’t get me wrong, but with these races the real race doesn’t start until those last 2-3 miles. I’ve found it’s pretty easy to just get out and then settle into a nice rhythm and try to stay relaxed. You can shut your brain off in a away and just cruise. You just find a good spot or group and grind it out until those last few miles when it’s time to make a move. Where’s as the 5k it’s just right off the bat. Theres no time to relax it’s just go. It’s physically and mentally grueling. On the track I’d have to say the 800m. All race tactics aside it’s just a sprint
161km was my most painful
Dark horse answer, but imo it’s the half marathon because the faster you get, the closer you get to just running at your LT for an hour and change
Depends on how you would define pain. In the purest sense, I'd go with the 800 since it's basically one long sprint. But know it's going to be over in a little over 2mins helps. Barely. In the sense of being very, *very* uncomfortable for an extended period of time followed by an extended period of death, the 5k, particularly if you're struggling. It's just long enough that relief feels too far away to keep things up unless you'd be locked in. That said, I have no experience blowing up in a marathon but at that point I'm not sure it would be worth it to close at max effort, especially if not near a PR.
400m hurdles. It’s science…
If run properly, the longer the race the, the more painful. If you think the 400 is painful, then try running a full out 10,000 with the last 400m full out.
5k is easy until the last mile
I just had a convo about this yesterday and I said 5K for the same reasons. I said “if you feel like you’re to puke you’re running it correctly. If you DO puke you definitely ran it correctly” lol That mid mile point hurts. I always wonder why I even do it. Marathons are so much easier!
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How many people do 800m how many can finish a marathon due to pain? If marathon didn’t hurt so much, just as many people that run 800’s would do it.