Curiouslyseriously wrote:
I have to make a decision until the end of the month anyway. Your help means a lot. I read some studies and talked to a local sports scientist and he said you could get benefit from training above 10,000 feet too. If your body adapts then you accelerate the process. I don't have a decade on my side. I want to give it a few years and see if i get where i want.
Yeah, I'm going to call BS on that 10k claim as well. I've never read of any elite *choosing* to run at 10-12k on a regular basis as a benefit over 7-9k.
I've spent time in Bolivia (La Paz), Peru (Cusco, Puno), Ecuador (Quito and south), Colombia (Bogota, Manizales, coast), and Mexico. As others have mentioned, I think Mexico, Chile or Colombia offer the best balance of livability, training options and amenities, and cost. Mexico or Chile would be ideal if you're really just "training" focused (ie. Kenyan style). Colombia (Bogota) would provide a more engaging place to "live" while you're training, but you may not want that. My country-by-country opinions:
Bolivia: Yes, it will be very cheap, but it will be hard to run in the La Paz area as its all steep, tight roads. Decent amount of pollution trapped in the valley, and decent trails are probably 30-45min away. My experience in La Paz was better than expected, but it's not a particularly nice or interesting place. Friendly people, decent food, but it suffers from the reality of being a poor country.
Ecuador: Quito is similar in scale/sprawl to La Paz, but with a more "friendly" 9000' altitude. It still has millions of people packed into the steep nooks and crannys of a rugged valley. Beautiful old parts of the city, but hard to get to trails depending on where you're living (could be 30min+ to get out). Pretty cheap place to live and probably slightly more modern than La Paz. There is a running scene there, moreso than La Paz.
Peru: I can't speak to Quito, but Cusco was a pretty decent city, but it's sprawl is chasing that of La Paz/Quito in a way. Trails would be at least 10-20min out of town, and you'd be running at around 12k in most cases, unless you were to drive farther out into other valleys. Probably more expensive that Quito or La Paz, but more exposure to western amenities (if you want that) with all the tourists around.
Mexico: I haven't spent time in the Highlands, but I spent a few weeks in a mid-size city off the tourist track and got a nice feel for "real" Mexico. I've heard great things about people who've gone the the highlands to train and I think you'd have great trails and training potential. $1200/mo should be fine to live there, especially if you're focused on training and not looking to play tourist on your down time.
Colombia: Bogota would be the most modern and Western-esque option to pursue. It's an incredible city, plenty of runners, tons to do, but is also very large and sprawled (in a flat valley sided by mountains). Trail access could be ok if you're in the nicer downtown part towards the East side, but would be more limited farther west/north.