Brilliant write-up again mate! There has always been something magical about the middle distances, perhaps starting for me as a kid in 1980 watching Coe and Ovett and their incredible rivalry and competitiveness at the Moscow Olympics.
I wasn't born then.....
I saved you the trouble of typing it yourself lol ;-)
Watch Ovett at about 400m basically push two other runners out of the way to make space for himself lol...brilliant :-)
It is a race I don't remember (being 2 at the time) but I've seen it a lot over the years and agree it is an epic battle.
Middle distances are great, I find I can't get into the sprints before they are over, and would prefer to tune into the marathons when the first breakaway happens - they can be boring until then.
Cheers!