Which is better for winter high altitude training-- Albuquerque or Santa Fe?

Go to Santa Fe, but don't live in the city, live outside of it. If you don't care about where you work or whatever, then live in White Rock, near Los Alamos. You just leave the house and can run for miles on the rim of the Rio Grande canyon. It'll be a mix of roads and trails, and depending on how many miles you're doing you'l have to make a few loops to avoid hills (if you plan on running more than 12 miles consecutively.)

For runs longer than 12, I'd loop around, but if you want trails it'll be impossible to avoid hills in Los Alamos or Santa Fe. I actually haven't been to Albequerque, and my longest runs (15 miles) were done in White Rock by doing a 5 mile loop in a neighborhood along the canyon rim, then using the canyon rim trail for a 10 mile out and back run.

The only time I drove to run was when my boss (who runs ultras) took me to the Sangre de Cristos. I recommend that for hiking, not running.

cheaper housing will be towards Albuquerque, white rock or los alamos isn't exactly cheap unless you're working for the lab. Abq will have less snow typically but more driving and Santa Fe can go either way weather-wise. If you're needing a track the high school in los alamos is around 20 minute drive...from white rock.

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There is plenty of flat running in Santa Fe, right out the front door of about any lodging. What's the winter weather outlook for northern NM? It has been and will be dry and mild for the upper Front Range (Denver and vicinity).

How about Alamosa? Its a higher altitude and probably lower cost of living.

Alamosa is hardly any higher than Santa Fe.

I live in Albuquerque and I strongly suggest it over Santa Fe. It is warmer and also has less snow. I would recommend living in the NE Heights near the Albuquerque Academy. Good running in that area and pretty close to river trails and also the foothills. Many elite runners live and train in this area, at least during summer I think. Dathan was here just a couple weeks ago.

fsjhfs wrote:

I live in Albuquerque and I strongly suggest it over Santa Fe. It is warmer and also has less snow. I would recommend living in the NE Heights near the Albuquerque Academy. Good running in that area and pretty close to river trails and also the foothills. Many elite runners live and train in this area, at least during summer I think. Dathan was here just a couple weeks ago.

The place I'm looking at is 2.2 miles from the Albuquerque Academy (and Bosque trail to the West), so I'm hoping I can run to either place from the door. I would probably have to drive to the foothills. Do you know of any extended stay places closer to the ABQ Academy?

I'm familiar with Alamosa, at least in the summer. I've heard it's bitterly cold in the winter, and might be a tough drive in the winter to ABQ for flying to races. So I'd prefer to live/train close to ABQ.

Stay at the Extended stay suites in Rio Rancho a suburb of Abq. 1/2 mile jog from the start of the trails surrounding the rio that are endless. Safe and cheap area, I've trained there for many Januarys and the weather is great 50-60f and sunny and for the track just drive over to UNMs track.

buzzard wrote:

Stay at the Extended stay suites in Rio Rancho a suburb of Abq. 1/2 mile jog from the start of the trails surrounding the rio that are endless. Safe and cheap area, I've trained there for many Januarys and the weather is great 50-60f and sunny and for the track just drive over to UNMs track.

Thank you! That's exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for.

By chance, did you ever look into the Northeast Crossland Economy Studios in ABQ? They go for $19.99/day for a month+, vs. $31.99/day for the Extended Stay in Rio Rancho.

actually you probably want to find a month to month condo closer to the foothills thats where you get the most benefit of altitude

if you are near the foothills of the sandia mountains you have unlimited access to miles and miles of trails that range between 7000 feet and about 9500 hundred feet, and milder weather than santa fe

the road you want to be near is called tramway

i train in abq and would highly recommend it

Do you have a suggestion on where to look, ~Craigslist? Thanks.

maybe in the albuquerque journal classifieds or the alibi which is the alternative weekly paper

i have not used craigs list so not sure how useful it is for property rental

or if you just search property rentals using google

you basically want to be near tramway if you look on google maps you can get a better feel for the area

just stay away from locations near tramway and central as there is alot of crime in that area - you prob want to be farther north on tramway towards academy

Hi, no didn't look at that one so dont know much about it. As another poster mentioned I also looked to see if I could rent a house or condo as there were a few of us going and I thought it may be more comfortable. However I found them all to be very overpriced and all wanted a crazy security deposit. You really cant go wrong with anything in Rio Rancho.

There are a bunch of us who live and train in Albuquerque. I know a perfect place that has low crime, is cheap, and yet comfortable quarters. I have lived here for 2 years. Running trails and nice bike paths right outside my door. If you want to talk to me, my number is 505 314 3306. We love having more people in our group, the more the merrier!

I have lived in both places. Alb. has better weather, less snow and wind. It also has access to a nice track and airport. Santa Fe is higher elevation. less friendly, very expensive, but super running trails. The running scene with local races is better in Alb.

Not to mention all the foreigners offering up PEDs.