Forums >Racing>Elevation Drop Question
I’m native of Colorado’s flat land plains. Lived my entire life at around 4000’ of elevation. First marathon is coming up in about a month The WIlliams Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa OK. Tulsa, a whopping elevation of 800’ above sea level. Anything I should be ready for with that big of a drop in elevation? Too many posts to count about an elevation gain. Guess we in Colorado have to think of things backwards .
Latent Runner
The only thing you're going to need to watch out for is a faster pace than you're used to.
Fat old man PRs:
The air may feel too thick. When we hiked the CDT in Colorado, mostly above 9000', when we would drop down into towns at lower elevations the air felt almost oppressively heavy compared to the high thin mountain air.
I wouldn't plan on much of a difference in your pace one way or the other.
I live at 3,200' elevation and have run a few races at lower elevations and in my experience the benefit of the drop in elevation is usually offset by the increase in humidity.
The higher elevations tend to be low humidity type environments, I think the plains of Colorado you are probably used to very low humidity.
If the weather turns out perfect for your race you might see a tiny bit of benefit from it, but I wouldn't bank on it for sure.
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
If this calculator is accurate, http://runworks.com/calculator.html, looks like if you can run a 45 minute 10K you can expect to do same distance in about 44 minutes (4000' to 1000'). Assuming course and weather are the same...
Ray
not bad for mile 25
The most notable difference will appear if you plan to bake an angel food cake.
Yeah, baking an angel food cake will have a much bigger impact on your finishing time than the elevation difference.
When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
Pace Prophet
I live at 6600' and have not noticed much of a benefit from running marathons at sea level. With shorter races, you're working closer to your aerobic limit, and so there is a definite advantage - I'm talking 10K to half marathon distance. At the 5K, and even somewhat at those other distances, you will find that you are limited by your legs rather than your lungs, so (frustratingly) you won't be able to take full advantage of the added oxygen. But the marathon is run at a moderate pace, and it won't really feel all that different to you. Your legs' fatigue is the limiting factor, not your lungs, so if you run faster, you're just going to hit the wall sooner.
I do think I feel slightly more comfortable going uphill in sea level marathons, compared to everyone else.