The 1500 m and the mile
Note
This page is a synthesis; the individual claims are graded on the pages they link to. The energy split of the 1500 m is well measured and the training of elite milers is well described, but the precise event-specific prescription rests on coaching practice rather than controlled trials.
The 1500 m and its slightly longer cousin the mile (1609 m) take competitive runners between about three and a half and five minutes, and longer for the rest. By this duration the aerobic system supplies roughly 77 to 84% of the energy (Spencer & Gastin 2001; Baker et al. 2010), so the event is aerobically dominated, yet it is still run above the speed that elicits VO₂max and is regularly decided in the final 200 m.
What decides it
The 1500 m sits where two qualities meet. A high VO₂max and the ability to hold a large fraction of it set the sustainable pace; the anaerobic speed reserve decides what is left for the kick. Because the race is run inside the speed-reserve band, a runner with more top-end speed sits at a lower fraction of maximum at any given pace, leaving more in hand for the finish (Sandford et al. 2019). Tactical championship races, run slow then sprinted, reward the speed-based runner; honestly paced time-trials reward the endurance-based one.
Training approach
The familiar base of easy aerobic volume underpins it (Haugen et al. 2022), with the sharp end shaped more polarised than at the longer distances: easy volume paired with a meaningful dose of very hard work (Casado et al. 2022). The staples are VO₂max intervals at and around 1500 m pace to lift and hold the aerobic ceiling, threshold work to raise the platform underneath, and regular strides and short speed work so the top speed that race pace sits beneath keeps climbing. Specific endurance is the ability to hold close to VO₂max for the full distance and still change gear; it is built by funnelling faster and slower work toward race pace as the race approaches, the same distance-specific logic that applies at every event.
Racing it
Aim for even effort. The adrenaline-fuelled fast first lap is the classic error; settle into goal rhythm quickly and save the change of pace for the finish (Abbiss & Laursen 2008). As with the 800 m, fuelling is a non-issue over a race this short. See race pacing.