400m

If you walk around the stands at a track meet and ask random athletes and fans what they consider the sprinting races to be, most will respond within two seconds with the answer, "The 100m and 200m races!". Likewise, when someone is asked what the so-called "distance" races are, most people will quickly reply, "The 800, 1500, and 3000.". There is one race though that might get a mixed response when asked about, and that race is the 400 meter.

 On line up spread sheets, this race is called the "400 meter run". Given that the 100m and 200m races are described as "dashes" this leads me to believe that the 400m is considered a distance race, which is the case in most situations. But is it really all that much of a distance race? I mean it is only one trip around the track, only 1/4 of a mile, so compared to the 3k or cross country meets, it is hardly any distance at all. Any successful 400m runner knows that in order to be competitive at this race, you are basically giving it your 100% all for the entire race, or at least pretty darn close. So maybe one is not technically sprinting the entire race, but where do you draw the line? I guess the track gods have decided that the sprinting line is drawn at the 200m, but it also seems weird to group the 400m and 3000m together as distance race.

To avoid the 400m's lack of a suitable category, the race is technically considered a mid-distance race. I still feel like it can be argued in favor of the 400m being a sprinting race, but I mean maybe that is just the way I personally feel when I run it. As a distance runner, there seems to be a substantial difference between an 800 or 1500 and a 400. When I am running a 400 I feel much less restricted than when I am racing an 800. I feel as if I can enjoy myself more because it is so short and I can just go all out the entire time and feel free! When I am running a 400, I worry only about pushing the pace and keeping a steady flow of one foot following the other, whereas when I run a 1500 I am more worried about pacing myself and sticking to a strategy that I hope is successful. I guess that is why a distance runner is more inclined to consider a 400 a sprint, because it is probably the closest they will come to sprinting.

Sprinters usually don’t consider the 400 meter as a sprint because they are used to competing only in 100s and 200s, which are both literally full out with absolutely no consideration of pacing at all. That is probably also why distance runners get excited at the prospect of getting to run a 400, while most of the sprinters I know who compete in the 100 and 200 usually get wide eyed and terrified at the thought of running a 400m. To sprinters, the 400 meter race seems like a daunting task, while getting to run the 400 meter to a distance runner can seem like a nice treat. I suppose that your feelings toward 400s are also altered, as with any race, based on whether or not 400s are your race of focus or your strong suite in track.