You can run at 7000 ft and sleep at 9500 ft

Bless you! See? Come to Taos. Hit up the Western Rim of the Gorge -- if you post in advance I can arrange a shuttle to take you from the Slide Trail on the other side of the Gorge back to your car at the trailhead for the Western Rim. It's about 14 miles or you can keep going to the Golf Course, there's potable water at the campsite at the bottom of the Gorge where you cross if needed.

If I was living in Boulder and training pwofessionally I would have one too.

I hadn't thought of that - I don't know if that has been proven? I'm in my 40s, it seems OK for healing for me. I grew up at 300 ft and moved Taos 10 years ago.

Most of the trails I run are rolling or flatish - I think that might be a misconception because people think of Taos for skiing but the ski resort is 20 minutes away. So the town of Taos and surrounds is a wide flatish valley with a Mesa and foothills on either side. For example the West Rim Trail has 1% average grade.

mtbproject.com

West Rim Trail Mountain Bike Trail, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico

A scenic ride along the Rio Grande Gorge, and there are Big Horn Sheep! Near Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico.

Link:www.mtbproject.com/trail/7002802/west-...

Rent - you can find a 1 BR apt or casita for $1200 and sometimes less. The longer you live here the easier it is to find a rental from word-of-mouth and your network. I just helped a friend score a casita for $800 because the landlord is a friend of a friend. You can get a room in a house for $600-$800. There are several groceries stores so the prices aren't outrageous like in say Crested Butte.

from experience would tend to agree it's a little bit much unless one is going to be competing at similar altitudes

i believe 8000' is right about the sweet spot, at least for good responders

Looks like there's a decent track at the high school, and another, perhaps less decent one at the middle school. Let's go!

9500 for living (at least part of the time) is not too high. For training it is.

I live at 7500 and do most of my training at 5500 and that seems to work fairly well.

None of you are correct, the best place to live high and train low in NM is Cloudcroft at about 8700ft, and you can be at about 4000ft in Alamogordo in less than 30 minutes. Cloudcroft is quiet and has less than 1000 people, but Alamogordo has more than 30,000 if you need to be around crowds.

Or you could go to Ruidoso(7000ft) which has about 8000 people and has a lot more fun options. It is a town run by the Apaches. It's about an hour from Alamogordo.