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High Altitude Running Preparing Your Body for Thin Air

I have put a note on my dirt nap list (things to do before I die) that I want to run in the Mount Evans Ascent in Idaho Springs, CO. The race is run every year and I’m hoping to be involved in a year or two.

The problem is I live in St. Louis, MO. If you have never been here, the air is far from thin and crisp.

Do you have any thoughts on how I can prepare by body to run in thin air at the higher altitude ? Short of tying a plastic bag over my head and trying to run, we are pretty far from 14,000 feet above sea level and I can probably only get out there a few days before the run. I’m not overly concerned about my finish time, I just have to do it without dying! Any thoughts?

Thank you, Tim

P.S. It is a 14.5 mile run with 4000 feet in elevation change from start to finish, so it is uphill all the way. I will be running in my first half-marathon in April, so I am still slightly a novice if you will. I average about 20 miles per week right now.

– Tim, St Louis, Missouri, USA

Answer by Dom: Hi Tim,
Thanks for your running training question. What's a man to do when something is on his bucket list?
You of course have to run this race and cross it off The List!

It is good to see that you are conscious about the effects altitude will have.
I spent six months in Colorado, studying at Ft Collins (Go Rams!).
I clearly remember the first week when I decided to do a short run around the campus. Boy, that hurt.

And it is not only a run at altitude, but it is also going up quite steeply as well. Talk about a double whammy!

At 14,000 feet you get roughly 40% less oxygen per breath than you do in St. Louis. Your legs will feel it long before your lungs tell you why. Here is what I recommend you do:

1. Get fit — build a long-run base after your half marathon
2. Do hills — climbing sessions and power-hiking practice
3. Run at high altitude just before the race — arrive early and test the air
4. Take it easy during the race: pace by effort, not by watch
5. Race-day practicalities: layers, water and warning signs

1. Get fit

I mean very fit. A state in which you'd be able to run the distance easily.

At 20 miles a week you have a decent start, but 14.5 miles is a long way, even on flat ground. My advice to you is to do things in order. Run your April half marathon first and recover properly for a week or two. Then give yourself 12 to 16 weeks of specific build-up for the Ascent.

Keep your weekly mileage rising by no more than about 10% a week, and make every fourth week a consolidation week where you drop back by roughly a quarter. Your long run is the key session. Start from whatever you comfortably ran for the half marathon (around 10 miles) and add a mile every second week until you have done one or two runs of 12 to 14 miles. Run them at an easy pace, where you can still hold a conversation. Weekly mileage will climb towards 30 miles. That is plenty.

You do not need to run the full 14.5 miles in training. The hills and the altitude will make up the difference on the day.

2. Do hills

Make sure your legs are ready for the steep climb up. If there are no long climbs in your area, then practice on a treadmill with longer steady climbs so you get used to that feeling of having to constantly climb.

The Ascent climbs about 4,000 feet over 14.5 miles — an average of roughly 5%. Set your treadmill to 4–6% and make that your weekly hill session. Warm up for 10 minutes, then run 6 x 3 minutes uphill at threshold effort (hard but controlled, you could say a few words, not a sentence). Jog easily for 2 minutes between each. Over the weeks, build to 8 x 4 minutes, then finish with one or two sustained climbs of 20 to 30 minutes at a steady effort.

Practise power-hiking too. That means walking briskly uphill, hands on thighs if it helps, with short strides. It is a perfectly legitimate tactic, not a failure. Walking the steepest bits early on saves your legs for later, and plenty of strong mountain runners do exactly that. Try it on the treadmill at 8–10% for 2 minutes, then run again.

3. Run at high altitude just before the race

Try to get there at least three days before. This gives you the opportunity to run at least once before the race. Not for long. 35-45 minutes or so. This allows you to feel what it is like to run at high altitude so it will serve as a good warning.

Let me be honest, though. A few days will not acclimatise you. Proper acclimatisation takes weeks, which you do not have. What those days do give you is a feel for the thin air and a chance to settle. Make that run slow and easy, and stop if you feel dizzy or sick.

Use the rest of the time sensibly. Sleep as much as you can, drink water regularly, and skip the alcohol — it dehydrates you and makes sleep worse at altitude. Don't plan a big hike or sightseeing marathon either. Save your legs.

4. Take it easy during the race

Ignore the adrenalin and the great feeling you have got at the start of the race and take it very, very easy. Treat it as a training run. Keep your end goal in mind which is to finish it and to cross it off the list.

Forget your watch pace. Altitude will slow you by one to two minutes per mile or more compared with flat running, and the gap grows the higher you climb. Use rate of perceived exertion (RPE) instead. That is a 1–10 effort scale, where 1 is very easy and 10 is all-out. Aim for 4–5 — easy enough to talk in short sentences. If you cannot, slow down or walk.

Maybe this all sounds a bit over the top. But it would be a shame if you'd make it all the way over there and then run too fast at the start, let the altitude really get to you, forcing you to walk a long part of the race (I assume you want to run the race not to walk it). So, I'd say take it easy and just try to finish it at a steady, easy pace.

5. Race-day practicalities

It gets cold and windy near the summit, even in summer. Carry a warm layer, a hat and gloves for after you finish, because you will cool down fast once you stop. Drink regularly during the run — the dry air makes you lose water without noticing.

Know the warning signs of altitude sickness: a headache that won't go away, nausea, dizziness. If they appear, slow down or stop. If they get severe, descend and seek medical help. Don't try to push through it. I am a running coach, not a doctor, so please ask your doctor about altitude before you go.

Best of luck with this mountain race and any other adventures on your list and good luck with that half marathon you are planning on doing in April.

Kind regards,
Dom

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