The 1500m Race

The 1500 meter race; It is every distance runner’s favorite race; It is every distance runner’s least favorite race. The 1500 meter is the girls’ version of the guys’ 1600 meter race, so it is for some reason 100 meters less than the 4 laps around the track that makes up the 1600 meter race. Compared to the typical 5k that distance runners run for a cross country race, you might think that the 1500 meter is a piece of cake, but it is not all fun and games.

Just because the 1500 meter is substantially shorter in distance than the 5K doesn’t mean that it is easier. You may be able to get through the race quicker when racing a 1500, but the pace at which you have to run a 1500 is noticeably faster. The 1500 meter race is also challenging because not only is it almost a mile, but you have to push yourself to be fairly close to a full out run the whole time in order to be successful at it. During the 5k, one is able to settle into a pace and ride out most of the race at a pace that, though extremely taxing, is not giving them any extreme mental and physical inhibitions. When one reaches the pace and distance that is required for the 1500 meter, things become a little different. There is no room for one to “settle in” when competing in a 1500. The fast pace is set from the time the gun goes off and one has to actively fight for a good position in the first 75 meters of the race. If you do not get a good position, you will have to make up a lot of ground or will be penned in the inside of a pack with no opening to get out. You have to have a strategy when running a 1500, and you have to be mentally in it the whole time, pushing yourself to the limit for the entire five plus minutes.

1500s are not all terrible though. It is nice to be able to allow yourself to run at a steady fast pace and to feel the burn in your legs and soreness in your throat. This sounds like it would be terrible, but it is really great when you can see the person in front of you and fight through the pain to pass them only to set your sights on the next person. Running 1500s uses a different energy system that distance runners are not always accustomed to, so it can be quite fun!