Does Altitude Really Affect Marathon Training or Running? 

There are several researches that have been done on marathon training or long distance running at altitude. Though marathon running performance is determine by several factors such as marathon training plan or program a runner is using, experience of the runner, and personal goals of the runner among other factors, altitude training comes into play for serious marathon runners. I am sure this is not the first time you are hearing this facts if you have been running for a while.

So How Does Altitude Affect Marathon Training?

The simplest way to explain this fact is by first understanding what happens to oxygen with the rise in altitude. You see, when the altitude rises, the atmospheric pressure decreases and so does the oxygen pressure. Remember I said decrease in oxygen pressure, not decrease in oxygen itself as some people have been misled to believe. But what does this have to do with marathon training or running? Well, when you are training for any endurance event such as marathon or any other long distance running, you are basically training your aerobic system (which has everything to do with oxygen uptake). In other words, you are trying to improve your oxygen uptake so that your muscles can work harder for longer duration.

Marathon training or running is such a demanding endurance activity that can test your body to limits. If your aerobic system is well developed through training, you will have a better chance of maximizing your marathon running potential and achieving your training or running goals.

Here is how altitude can help assuming that you are using the right marathon training plan or program. As the oxygen pressure decreases with rise in altitude, your body will acclimatize to accommodate this change by increasing the red blood cells. The hemoglobin in the red blood cells is responsible for transporting oxygen to the exercising muscles which means the more efficient they are, the more oxygen your muscles will receive. Ultimately more oxygen means more energy for your muscles and I don’t have to tell you that your performance will improve as a result. Research has shown that these positive effects are maximized at altitudes higher than 2000 meters (6,500 feet) above the sea level.

Marathon Training at High Altitude doesn’t help with Speed Training!

On the contrary high altitude does not help with speed training. That is why it is better to start your marathon training at a higher altitude when you are still focusing on mileage, then go to sea level or lower altitude for speed training. As a matter of fact this is what most elite marathon runners do and it shows in their performance. From my marathon training coaching experience, I have seen most marathon runners train at altitude for 75 percent of their program and move to sea level for the last 25 percent just for speed work. This is really effective if the marathon event you are training for will be at a lower altitude (which seems to be the case with most marathon events). However, if the marathon event you are training for will be run at a high altitude location, then you may as well spend the last few weeks at high altitude to acclimatize.  

Finally not everyone respond well to altitude training in their marathon training or running. But for the most part, research has shown that training at altitude for several weeks has a significant positive effect on aerobic system which is crucial in endurance sports such as marathon running. Like I mentioned earlier, altitude without a good marathon training plan or program may not help you reach your running potential. Actually it is better to train at a lower altitude with a good marathon program than at a higher altitude with a poor marathon training plan