Altitude: not about training hard but training smart
MARK SHEARMAN
SCROLL through the rankings of the world’s top distance athletes and you would struggle to find one who doesn’t include high-altitude training within their regular programme. Whether it is in the form of training camps or simulated through the use of altitude tents, almost all top athletes use the thinner air at high altitude to gain those valuable extra performance percentages.
But wide availability of training camps and high-tech devices mean that it’s no longer exclusively available to the elite. Any athlete of any level who wishes to improve their performance can try it, but it’s no magic bullet and should be approached with caution. I started visiting high-altitude training bases in 2013 and, to be honest, it can be a double-edged sword. Although it’s helped to produce some of my fastest times on the track, it’s also led to my most disappointing year, one sabotaged with illness and injury.