High school 800m training plan · 4 levelsTwelve weeks to the 800m. Every split already written.
Every pace is a P number, a percent of the athlete’s current mile. Enter one race and one goal per athlete, and the calculator puts their split next to every rep, every day, all season.
Coaching the 800m, 1600m and 3200m? Get all three plans for $99.
- Instant download
- Full calculator included
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 31state champions coached
- 25 yearscoaching high school distance runners
- USATF Level 2Endurance Coach
- Coach of the YearNew Hampshire cross country, 2018
The Saltmarsh Pace Scale
The workout is easy to write. The splits are the work.
You write 6 × 200m on the whiteboard. Then the whole roster asks for their split. Most 800m plans for sale are written for one runner chasing one goal time. Your roster is first-year kids and sprinters moving up next to four-year seniors. This plan starts from a race each athlete actually ran, writes every session in laps they already know, and does the math for the whole team.
One number for every pace.
400m splits for a 2:20 800m runner with a 2:16 goal. Current 800m race pace is 70.0, between P105 and G. Easy is per mile.
Start from a real race.
P100 is the athlete’s current mile pace, worked out from a race they ran. An 800m converts. For speed-type runners, a 1600m sets the endurance paces truer.
Read the P number.
P110 is 10% faster than mile pace. 800m race pace sits near P106. A session reads 6 × 200m P110, 200m walk. Most reps are half a lap to two laps.
Set the goal. Rehearse it.
After the week 3 time trial, each athlete gets G, their goal 800m pace. Broken 800s at G, two 400s with a walk that shrinks from 60 to 30 seconds, teach goal rhythm on tired legs. A 600m at G in week 11 tells you if the goal is ready.
Three coaches. One scale. Speed first.
Jack Daniels
Paces come from races, as in his VDOT system. Every session is checked against a per-session limit for its level, and fast reps get full recovery.
Renato Canova
Every pace is a percent of race pace, moving from general to specific. Mondays climb from P80 to P100. Wednesdays come down from P115 and P110 to goal pace.
Mihály Iglói
Sets with easy running between reps. The cue is relaxed, and a rep that tightens ends the set. Relaxed P90–95 sets come before anything long and fast.
The 800m is two to three minutes of running, and about two thirds of the energy is aerobic. Speed sets the ceiling. Daniels supplies the physiology and the safety limits. Canova supplies the percent-of-race-pace ladder and how to progress it. Iglói supplies the relaxed sets. The P-Scale puts it all into one number for every pace, with workouts written in laps high schoolers already know.
A real week from the plan
Veteran, week 9. Splits filled in.
A 2:20 800m runner with a 2:16 goal. Every split on this page comes from those two numbers. Monday is five 600m reps at P95 with fast 150s to finish. Wednesday is broken 800s at goal pace with a 30-second walk. Saturday is an 800m. Race it with the 800m and 1600m race strategy.
| Mon | 2 mi warm-up Easy 6:52+/mi · 5 × 600m P95 1:57, 90 s jog; 4 × 150m P110 25.0, 150m walk · 1 mi cool-down | 6 mi |
|---|---|---|
| Tue | Easy 6:52+/mi + drills + 10 Hills + strength | 5.5 mi |
| Wed | 2 mi warm-up Easy 6:52+/mi · Broken 800s: 2 × (400m G 68.0, 30 s walk, 400m G 68.0), full between sets; 4 × 150m P110 25.0, 150m walk · 1 mi cool-down | 4.5 mi |
| Thu | Easy 6:52+/mi + 6 × 100m P90–95 19.5–20.4 relaxed | 4.5 mi |
| Fri | Easy 6:52+/mi | 3.5 mi |
| Sat | Meet: 800m (warm-up Easy 6:52+/mi, race, cool-down) | 4 mi |
| Sun | Off | Off |
Four levels
Place them by training history, not grade.
Same order, same session types, same P zones. The levels differ in volume, reps per set and running days. Every session stays under the per-session limit for its level. Coming off a winter with less running? Start a level down.
5 running days
First season, under about 12 miles a week this winter, or a sprinter moving up.
6 running days
Second season, or back from a break with 6+ weeks of steady running at 15+ miles a week.
6 running days
Third- and fourth-year runners with an 18 to 25 mile winter base.
7 days in weeks 2 to 11
Multi-year runners who have handled 30+ miles a week.
The full P-Scale Pace Calculator
The calculator does the split math. For the whole roster.
One race and one goal per athlete in. A season of splits out.
Free calculator
Zones and rep times for one athlete.
Full calculator, included
Every day of the season with each athlete’s splits, goal pace, team sheets, routines and printouts.
The season, with their splits.
Pick a level and a start Monday. All 12 weeks fill in with that athlete’s split next to each rep, Easy pace on easy days, and the warm-up, core and plyos for the day.
The whole team on one page.
Pick a day. Every athlete, grouped by level and color, with their own splits for that session. Your roster saves in your browser.
Print it, or check it on a phone.
Pace cards, week sheets, team sheets and routines print clean. Any browser, phone or laptop. Nothing to install. No athlete accounts. No subscription.
What you get
Everything in the 800m plan, from week 1 to the goal race.
The whole high school 800m training plan: two PDFs to print and keep, and the full calculator to run the season.
The Coach’s Guide
Read it before week 1 and you can place every athlete, explain every session and coach the race itself.
- The P-Scale, zone by zone
- The speed side, and placing athletes in four levels
- 800m race strategy, 200m by 200m
Day-by-Day Schedules
Four levels, 12 weeks, every day with its session, its routines and its miles.
- Print a level, post it, coach
- Broken 800s and the week 11 600m built in
- Midweek meets and short seasons covered
The full P-Scale Pace Calculator
One race and one goal per athlete in, a season of splits out, for every athlete on your roster.
- Every day with every split
- Team sheet for any day
- Pace cards and week sheets that print
Warm-ups, core and plyos
Two warm-ups, core and plyos dosed by level, tagged on every day of the plan.
- Warm-up A daily, Warm-up B before workouts and meets
- Core A and B, sets by level
- Plyo ground contacts by level, with a taper
The 30-day use-it-with-your-team guarantee.
Run it with your actual roster. If it doesn’t earn its keep, reply to your receipt email within 30 days for a full refund. No forms, no questions.
Coaching all three events?
Get the 800m, 1600m and 3200m Plans for $99.
All three plans in one purchase: six PDFs and three full calculators, in one pace language for your whole distance group. $18 less than buying them one at a time.
The 12 weeks
Wide at the start. Narrow at the finish.
Fundamental, Special, Specific and Final quality, three weeks each. Speed stays in all season. Volume eases in, steps back in week 6, peaks in weeks 8 and 9 and drops about a third by race week.
Endurance side: P80, then P85 to P95, then P100, with short fast reps after.
Easy run, drills, hill sprints, plyos, core.
Speed side: P115 and P110, then P105, with full recovery. Broken 800s at G in weeks 6, 7 and 9.
Easy run and relaxed 100s.
Easy. Beginner: off.
Meet from week 3. Long easy run in weeks 1 and 2.
Why it is built this way
Built on what holds up.
Warm-ups every day
Warm-up programs cut injuries in youth athletes by about a third, and only when they are done consistently (2022 meta-analysis). That is why they are tagged on every day.
Two thirds aerobic
In trained runners, about two thirds of the energy in an 800m comes from the aerobic system (Spencer and Gastin, 2001). So Mondays build the engine while Wednesdays build the speed.
A faster first lap
In 24 of 26 men’s 800m world records, the first lap was the faster one (Tucker, Lambert and Noakes, 2006). Broken 800s train athletes to hold G on the second 400m.
Honest about the evidence
No study tests the P-Scale as a package. Each part comes from methods with long track records, and every session stays under a limit for its level.
Questions
Questions coaches ask about the 800m plan.
One-time purchase. No subscription. No per-athlete fees.
Want a second set of eyes on your placements? Reply to your receipt email to set up a one-hour call.
Will it fit my meet schedule?
It runs on weeks, not dates. Week 12 is goal-race week. Count back 11 weeks from that Monday, enter the date, and the calculator dates every day. The schedules assume a Saturday meet from week 4. A midweek meet replaces Wednesday’s session, and the Coach’s Guide shows how to move Monday’s session around a Tuesday meet.
My season is shorter than 12 weeks.
Cut from the middle, never the ends. For 11 weeks drop week 5. For 10 weeks drop weeks 4 and 5. Weeks 1 to 3 and 9 to 12 stay whole.
My athletes are at very different fitness levels. Does one plan work?
Yes. The level sets the volume. Each athlete’s own race sets the pace, and their own goal sets G. The team sheet prints the whole roster for any day, grouped by level, with every athlete’s splits.
What is G?
G is the athlete’s goal 800m pace, set after the week 3 time trial. It drives two sessions: broken 800s on the Wednesdays of weeks 6, 7 and 9, and a 600m at G to open week 11. If an athlete runs that 600m on pace and relaxed, they have a good shot at the goal on race day.
Why does an 800m plan run on the mile?
The P-Scale has one anchor. P100 is the athlete’s current mile pace, so one number works for every event. 800m race pace sits near P106 for most runners, just past P105. Speed work runs at P105 to P115, endurance work at P80 to P100, and G sits between P105 and P110. Enter an 800m time and the calculator shows each athlete’s exact 800m pace on the scale.
Which race should set P100?
A 1600m or 800m from the last few weeks. The calculator converts either. For speed-type runners, an 800m sets P80 to P95 a little fast, so use their 1600m when they have one. G always comes from the goal 800m.
I already have the 1600m plan. What is different?
Same P-Scale, same calculator, same routines and the same four levels. The 800m plan carries less volume, with peaks of 20, 24, 28 and 34 miles. It puts speed in every week, gives fast reps full recovery, swaps rolling 200s for broken 800s, and checks readiness with a 600m at G instead of a 1000m.
My sprinters want to try the 800m.
Start them at Beginner, whatever their grade. Five running days, 20 miles at the peak, hill sprints and fast reps every week. Enter a recent 800m, or a 1600m if they have one.
How is this different from Daniels?
Keep Daniels. The P-Scale uses his rules: paces come from races, and every session stays under a per-session limit for its level. What it adds is one number for every pace, a percent of the athlete’s current mile, written in laps your kids already know.
Can my athletes double in the 800m and 1600m?
Yes. Mondays climb to P100 every week, so the mile stays in reach while the 800m sharpens. For race-day advice on both, read the high school race strategy guide.
Can an athlete or parent use it without a coach?
Yes. Read the Coach’s Guide first. Enter a recent race and a goal, pick a level and a start Monday, and every day shows up with the splits filled in.
Does one purchase cover my staff and team?
Yes. One purchase covers one program: every coach on your staff and every athlete on your roster. Send the PDFs and the calculator link to your assistants. Please don’t share it outside your program.
Does it connect to cross country?
Yes. 5K race effort lands in the high P80s, so the P-Scale works in the fall too. The Coach OS Bundle covers cross country. This plan covers spring track.
Has the P-Scale been tested in a study?
Not as a package. No study tests the P-Scale itself, as none tests most coaching systems. Each part comes from methods with long track records: race-based paces, session limits and fully recovered fast reps from Daniels, percent-of-race-pace progression from Canova, and relaxed sets from Iglói.
More from Coach Saltmarsh
P-Scale 1600m Plan · $39
The same system, built for the mile. Same calculator, same levels.
P-Scale 3200m Plan · $39
The same system, built for the two-mile, with a Lydiard base.
Winter Training Block · $59
Before this plan: the gap between the last cross country race and the first outdoor meet.
Coach OS Bundle · $139
After it: summer and cross country, with tools for the whole staff.
P-Scale 800m Plan
Week 12 is the race. Count back from there.
One race and one goal per athlete. Four levels. Every split on every rep. $39, one-time, covers your staff and team.