Ruman wrote:
Hello, I'm looking for responses from anyone who has run the Colorado Marathon in Fort Collins or has experience racing long distance at altitude after training at sea level. I'm registered for this year's race and am aiming to break my PR (2:52 at Chicago). The race starts at ~6100 feet and ends at ~5000 feet, with an almost constant ~1% decline as you follow the river down from the mountains. If it were at sea level I would consider a PR from this course BS, but as is I don't know what to expect. How difficult will I find this event?
Thanks for any word.
The downhill throws a ringer into the mix. Do not think that it automatically makes it easier. It can really beat your legs up and since it is pretty constant (and does not SEEM like much) it might even be worse. At least you do not run DH and then have to run uphill near the end like at Boston
Some of the DH will offset the decrease in PO2. Somewhere on the interwebs there is a site where you can put in all sorts of variables like altitude and descent and get an estimate of the effect. The numbers are based off averages so you are still taking a bit of a guess.