covering from the training effort and cannot become faster because there will never be more oxygen, no matter how fit you are. I know elite ultrarunners and mid- and back-ofthe-pack 100-mile trail runners who live and train at 10,000 feet, and they all report the effort to run at this elevation never diminishes—it merely becomes familiar.

For a runner who lives at 1,000 feet and intends to race at 7,000 feet, there is little significant impact to performance caused directly by altitude. It takes about two days for your oxygen-carrying red blood cells to notice the change in the amount of oxygen they get to carry. So don’t arrive at the race much before the start. The more significant impact to performance would be hilly terrain, which I expect most courses at 7,000 feet include. Not being prepared for hills would be more fatiguing ina firsttime ultra than the effects of 7,000 feet of elevation. So, train for strength, descents, and climbs, and don’t worry about the altitude. Good luck!

Theresa Daus-Weber lives and trains in the mountains of Colorado and has won the Leadville

100-Mile Trail Race, all of which is run at 10,000 feet and above.

THERE IS an annual race in Wellington, New Zealand, on an infamous hilly course (think San Francisco). I won it more than once and used to puzzle rivals by saying, “It’s essentially a downhill race.” What I mean is that, sure you can go hard on the uphills in such a race, but you will

March/April 2000

pay a high price. At 7,000 feet altitude, it could be very high. Do the climbs at controlled effort, then take the downhills fast, hitting your competitors hard just when they think it’s cruise time. So, my recommendation is to train hard uphill, do hard hill repetitions, working your breathing to the limit. Butit’s equally important to work on your downhill skills. Run plenty of fast downhills to get your legs strong and agile, and make yourself quick-striding and sure-footed on the down gradients in the race. Since there is no breathing problem downhill, that way you will level off any disadvantage from being unused to altitude. So enjoy—but watch for rocks and roots and rattlers.

Roger Robinson

is a professor of English at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, and has been one of the world’s top masters distance runners for many years.

BOBB’S QUESTION conjures up images of athletes retiring to catch their zzzzs in the rarified confines ofa personal hyperbaric chamber. Or of Emil Zatopek and his reported regimen of running ever-increasing distances while holding his breath as part of his training. However, I feel that Bobb’s best bet for training toward an event held at altitude will not require him to go to such extremes.

I currently live in Canmore in the eastern foothills of the Canadian Rockies. This location is at an altitude of approximately 4,500 feet, with trails that climb to over 7,000 feet virtually in my backyard. With Bobb’s

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question in mind, some observations from “sea-level living” friends who have visited may give Bobb some direction in preparing for his upcoming ultra.

My acquaintances arrive to visit in various states of fitness (couch potatoes to running machines). I have found it is those who are involved in a daily aerobic training regimen who cope with the altitude change the best. Those who lead a more sedentary life seem to take more time to acclimatize to the limited oxygen in the atmosphere. Relating this more closely to running, many teams of runners based at sea level make the trek to this area to participate in the annual Jasper-toBanff and Kananaskis 100-mile relays. Both of these events boast segments that are in excess of 6,000 feet.

Although I have nothing but anecdotal evidence (i.e., I talk to a lot of runners) to go by, those runners with a strong background in distance running and corresponding training feel less effects of the altitude and experience less decline in their performances in relation to their sea-level performances. By contrast, those runners who are less dedicated in their running endeavors (train less regularly) experience shortness of breath and their performances are markedly slower than their sea-level performances.

Considering these vignettes, I would recommend whatis essentially the tried-and-true regimen (most probably Lydiard-based) directed at developing as strong an endurance base as possible. Asecondary suggestion is to train on terrain similar to what Bobb will experience in the event. For instance, if there are lots of hills in the event, running similar hills even at sea level will serve to assist the transition to running this terrain at altitude.

Closer to the event, acclimatization will be the key consideration. Arriving at the venue for the event as much in advance as possible will be the other key, as this will allow gradual adjustment to the rigors of running at altitude.

At the end of the day, consistent training with clear goals in mind will serve as more than adequate preparation for the medium-altitude event.

Kelvin Broad is a many-times winner of both the Calgary and Edmonton marathons and a highly

experienced mountain runner. Check his Web site: www.mountainrunning.com.

Send your questions to

“On the Mark” Marathon & Beyond

P.O. Box 161

Forestville, CA 95436 USA E-mail:

onmark @ marathonandbeyond.com

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March/April 2000

About THE Authors

FRED EBRAHIM arrived in the United States in the late 1950s from his native Iran, which he was exiled from because of his juvenile misdeeds. Fred took up running at age 48 when he realized a 180-pound body ona5’5″ frame wasn’t healthy. He ran his first mara- \ { thon four months before turning 50 and has run 20 i fg, more since then. He appointed himself race director of The Cherry Street Mile in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which became the fastest road mile race in the United States, with a 3:46.29 fastest, and 38 sub-4:00 runs in five years. He gave up the race for financial reasons, not for a lack of passion. These days Fred runs mostly cross-country and trail races but tries to run at least one marathon a year to remember the simultaneous feelings of pain and joy. Fred is happily married and works in the printing and advertising sales trade.

PAULREESE first took up distance running at age 47 in 1964 and has been active in all facets of the sport, including as a competitor, race director, and writer. As a competitor, Paul has held masters records in age divisions 50 through 80 at distances from 5,000 meters to 100 miles. He has completed over 200 marathons (at which point he stopped counting) and has directed at least one race every year since 1965. He has written three books (Ten Million Steps, Go East Old Man, and The Old Man and the Road) detailing his adventures running across the United States. Paul is the oldest person to run across the country and the only person to run across all 50 states.

THERESA DAUS-WEBER was the 1995 USATF masters 100K champion. She is a four-time member of the U.S. 100K teams and has a 100K PR of 8:22. Theresa is a former Leadville Trail 100 champion and has completed the 100-mile, high-altitude race in the Colorado Rocky Mountains eight times. Theresa lives with her ultrarunning husband Scott, a running coach and running events organizer, in Littleton, Colorado.

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MICHAEL KOHN is the editor of The Mongol Messenger, an English newspaper in Mongolia. He is also a correspondent for several press groups, including the AP and Voice of America. He has traveled to 40 countries, mostly in Asia and Europe. The Sunrise to Sunset was his first marathon, but not his last—provided he can find a decent pair of running shoes in Mongolia. He can be contacted at monmessenger@mongolnet.mn.

STEVE PALLADINO, a podiatrist in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Rosa, California, attended the University of California at Davis and the California College of Podiatric Medicine in San Francisco.

_ Heholds Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and Masters in ; Podiatic Medical Education degrees and is board cer- “— tifiedin foot and ankle surgery by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery; he is currently vice president of that organization’s board of directors. A member of the Reebok Aggies Running Club, Steve’s marathon credentials include winning the 1978 San Francisco Marathon, qualifying for the 1980 Olympic Marathon Trials with a 2:16 at Boston in 1979, and a 2:45 at the 1997 Boston Marathon as a masters runner.

TOM ECKER ran on the University of Iowa track team, winning individual championships in the Big Ten and in the Drake and Kansas Relays. He coached track and cross-country at Western Kentucky University, where he was named conference coach-of-theyear each year there. Tom served as the national coach for Sweden in the 1968 Olympics and represented the United States on technical committees prior to the 1980 and 1984 Games. Tom was the only American presenter at the International Coaches Association meetings at the Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece, in 1986. Tom is author or coauthor of 14 sports books for coaches and has authored more than 100 technical articles. His book Olympic Facts & Fables, from which this issue’s contribution is compiled, is published by Tafnews Press in Mountain View, California.

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