The Kosmin test is one of the most widely used tests for determining 800m runner fitness. I have used it many times myself, and do find that it is a nice way to get a very solid effort from my athletes without topping out at such a high speed to risk injury. Additionally, because it is so widely used it is likely that you will be able to find a coaching colleague to compare some data with.

As with any test, athletes will need to acquire an ability to know HOW to run the test. Just as with any race effort where athletes try to learn how to run more efficiently to improve their performance, an athlete performing a test will learn through time how to run the test effort more efficiently.

Essentially the Kosmin is two efforts of 60s with a 3min break between. The distance is measured and put into a formula to predict the 800m time. There is a different formula for men/women, though it is more accurately a different formula for below/above 2:00. (There is also a lesser-known version of the Kosmin for the 1500m, but this blog will focus on the 800m.) The link at the top of this blog provides the formula and also an excel sheet that calculates it for you.

As I was performing a recent workout with one of my mid-distance athletes, I began thinking about how it could progress toward his effort in the 800m (or the Kosmin). So below I have written a possible progression of this workout as a build-up to the Kosmin. The paces/quantity are applicable to my athlete, who is currently somebody running around 2:00 in the 800m.

Rest between sets somewhere between 3-8min; enough to be recovered to get through the set while being challenged, but without inducing gauranteed failure.

100m efforts w/equal time rest

4x(4x15-15) = 4x60s of effort = 240s

3x(6x15-15) = 3x90s of effort = 270s

2x(8x15-15) = 2x120s of effort = 240s

200m efforts with equal time rest

3x(4x30-30) = 3x120s of effort = 360s

2x(6x30-30) = 2x180s of effort = 360s

300m efforts with equal time rest

2x(4x45-45) = 2x180s of effort = 360s

1x(6x45-45) = 1x270s of effort = 270s

400m efforts with equal time rest

2x(2x60-60) = 2x120s of effort = 240s

1x(3x60-60) = 1x180s of effort = 180s

KOSMIN

1x(2x60s w/3min) = 120s

This might be a good fall progression for those who especially have a more sprint-based background with the 800m. Sets up nicely with a 10-week progression pattern. And perhaps from here the buildup could be going to a five week pattern of:

200m efforts with equal time rest

3x(4x28-28) = 3x112s of effort = 336s

2x(6x28-28) = 2x168s of effort = 336s

300m efforts with equal time rest

2x(4x42-42) = 2x168s of effort = 336s

400m efforts with equal time rest

2x(2x56-56) = 2x112s of effort = 224s

KOSMIN #2

There are obviously a lot of ways to progress toward this Kosmin test, and for some athletes a methodical approach with repetitive workouts like this may not be applicable (see Terrance Mahon's article here). But this one is easy to implement (even for the athlete on their own) with just a countdown timer on their watch.