Okay…I am not a “blogger”, but here is my lame attempt at trying. This is Jamie and I am so excited about this race! I just completed the Salt Lake City Marathon last weekend (yippee!!!). While I was there, I decided to ask around to some fellow runners about the Wasatch Back Relay. The first response from each runner was, “watch out for altitude sickness!” I had not really considered the altitude as being much of a hurdle, until I began running the race.
What a difference a couple thousand feet of altitude make (I know, I was naïve!). Las Vegas is around 2,000 feet while Salt Lake City is around 4,200 feet. Throughout the duration of the race, I could not catch a deep breath. I felt like I was panting short, shallow breaths and it really took a toll on my performance. After doing some research when I returned home, I found a runner’s website that had this to say about the Wasatch Back run:
Spectacular scenery stirs the imagination along the route, enhanced by terrific organization. It runs for 178.3 miles in one of the most beautiful regions, and at the Summer Solstice. This will be one of the top overnight relays in the USA in 2008. It will provide you and 11 teammates the experience of a lifetime…Much of the range exceeds 10,000 feet (the Great Salt is at elevation 4,202 feet), with the high point being Mount Timpanogos at 12,208.
Holy crap…that is high. Beautiful but high. Some of the runners I spoke with said that they were throwing up during and after the race because of the altitude levels. Their advice to me was to train as high up in altitude as possible. So, after all of my rambling, that is the point of this post.
Mt. Charleston anyone???
2 comments:
Jamie- Good to hear from you and congratulations on a fantastic marathon. Well done!!
Altitude will be a big question mark. I have written before on the round the mountain run. At it's highest, we top out at about 5400 ft. I don't recognize a huge difference. Most of the
Wasatch Back will be at about 5000 ft. Going up over Avon Pass (6500 ft), the run up to Snow Basin (6400ft), and of course over Guradsman Pass (8800 ft). The last one will be tough, no doubt. The best defense against altitude sickness is lots of water, lots of water, lots of water. Unless you are training at altitude that is your only defense. I like the Mt Charleston idea, can't hurt. We'll keep the discussion going on the blog and see what results.
Congratulations dude! And thanks for your investigative reporting from the insiders in SLC. Can't wait to see you on some team runs!
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