Justin Rinaldi’s 800M Coaching Philosophy, Principles, and Practices for Middle-Distance Success
What stood out most from Justin Rinaldi's presentation was the clarity of his principles. Rinaldi keeps speed and endurance in the program year round, breaks 800 metre pace into race sections, individualises training to the athlete, and keeps learning from athletes, support staff and other coaches. Here are the key points that I took away from his masterclass in 800m coaching...
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One of the clearest messages in the presentation was that speed and endurance sit at either end of Justin’s 800 metre programme. He describes them as the two bookends he focuses on year round.
Importantly, when he says speed, he means maximum speed. Not speed endurance. Not fast tempo. He means flat out sprinting, such as 30 metre efforts, flying 30s and sprint work up to around 60 metres.
“When I say speed, I mean max speed.”
Rinaldi explained that his Monday speed session began after Alex Rowe struggled to get to the front of large European 800 metre fields. Since 2014, he has kept a basic speed session in the programme every Monday.
- Keep true sprint exposure in the programme across the year.
- Separate maximum speed from speed endurance in your planning language.
- Use speed work to help athletes position well, move efficiently and protect their speed reserve.
Rinaldi challenged the common habit of reducing 800 metre pace to one simple average. For example, if a coach wants an athlete to run 1:44, it can be tempting to call that 52 second pace and run everything from there.
His approach is more specific. He breaks the race into the first 200 metres, the middle 400 metres and the last 200 metres. Each section has a different purpose and a different pace demand.
“I tend to work on those three different elements of the 800.”
He also pointed to a shift in modern elite 800 metre racing. In his analysis, many of the recent 1:41 performances have used a slightly more controlled first 200, which allows the athlete to finish faster. For his athletes, that means talking about specific targets such as 24.5 or 24.7, not vague instructions like “about 24”.
- Design sessions for the section of the race you want to influence.
- Teach athletes to hit precise early race rhythms, not just run hard.
- Use race analysis to test whether your training model still matches the event.
A useful part of the presentation was how practical Rinaldi made the race section concept. To work on the start of the 800, he uses sessions like 10 by 200 metres with two minutes recovery, aiming around 24.2 to 24.5 seconds.
For the closing 200 metres, he described 12 by 200 metres with one minute recovery, with slightly slower targets that match the end of the race. He also uses hill versions, such as 10 by 160 metres or three sets of four by 180 metres, where the hill rep takes roughly the same time as the target 200 metre race section.
“There’s nothing scientific here, but we try to average that 24.2 to 24.5.”
He also shared a Monday speed structure that may include three 30 metre standing starts, flying 30s, first lap pace rhythm such as 10 by 100 metres in 12.5 seconds, or a flat out 200 metres.
- Write the session purpose before writing the reps.
- Match the pace and recovery to the race section you are targeting.
- Use hills carefully as a time matched substitute, not as a slog with different mechanics.
Rinaldi’s examples of Mark English, Peter Bol and Josh Hoey were a strong reminder that coaching the same event does not mean coaching the same week.
With Mark English, he used lots of shorter reps to build endurance because longer five minute efforts pushed lactate too high and forced the pace too far away from 800 metre speed. The example was 30 by 300 metres, later progressing to 40 by 300 metres, with one to one recovery.
Peter Bol’s endurance work looked more traditional, with sessions such as 8 by 1,000 metres, later up to 10 by 1,000 metres. Josh Hoey’s approach was different again, with no runs over 10 kilometres in the season Rinaldi discussed, but with substantial threshold work on the treadmill.
“Even though I’m coaching the same event, I still tailor the training.”
- Individualise the method without abandoning the principle.
- Use the athlete’s response to decide whether a session is doing what you think it is doing.
- Be cautious about copying elite sessions without copying the decision making behind them.
Rinaldi was clear that he has core principles, but he is not rigid about making every athlete fit one model. He plans with an end goal in mind, then often works week to week so he can respond to what the athlete is showing him.
That flexibility also came through in his comments about support structures. He spoke about drawing on sport science support, athlete agents, strength and conditioning coaches, physiotherapists, other coaches and family. The message was simple: high performance coaching is not a solo sport, even when the coach can feel very alone.
“Listen to your athlete’s ideas.”
His final messages were practical and coachable: use science where possible, do not be over reliant on it, trust your eye, practise race tactics early in the season and never be afraid to ask questions.
- Build a program athletes believe in, not just one that looks clever on paper.
- Use data, but keep watching the athlete in front of you.
- Create space for athletes to practise tactical decisions before major championships.
Final thought
Justin's presentation showed the discipline behind a simple framework: keep developing maximum speed, keep building endurance, understand the race in sections and adjust the pathway to the athlete.
For coaches, the challenge is not to copy every session. It is to copy the thinking. What does this athlete need? What part of the 800 metres are we training? What did the last week tell us? And what needs to change before the athlete tells us the hard way?
