Altitude, Altitude, Altitude

As one of the members of the GearJunkie.com crew at the Teva Mountain Games I had my choice of events in which to participate and decided on the Native Eyewear 10k Runoff. This is billed as the hardest 10k in the nation and after spending two days running around the mountain I can see why. See the course here: http://www.tevamountaingames.com/documents/10K-SpringRunOff-2009_000.pdf

The 6 1/2 mile dash around the mountain will give all runners an elevation gain of approximately 1,800 feet. If this race wasn’t hard enough on its own it will mark the third event for a large number of athletes competing in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge: http://www.tevamountaingames.com/ev_tumc.cfm

As a flat lander hailing from Minnesota I am used to an elevation of roughly 1,000 feet. The 10k at the games is run at 9,000 feet of elevation. While I trained properly in tough trail conditions in Minnesota, paying particular attention to climbing as much as possible, and have the fitness base to run a 10k in good time, I am concerned about struggling in the altitude.

Keep checking out the site for all of the events we are participating in, how we do and the gear we use.

— Pat Petschel

Pat Petschel will be participating in the Teva Mountain Games and making occasional reports from the event.