zvcxczvx wrote:
Any running tradition that used to exist in the Inca period is long gone, and so no one runs in the Andes, or at least no one ran when I spent a summer in Bolivia at altitudes over 13,000' in Potosi, and some time in Sucre at maybe 7-8k'. Running could be great up there. Of course, the build of people is also very different than in Kenya. A lot of people are short and have short legs and are stockier. Nevertheless, I'm sure they could be great if it were part of the culture. I was only able to run 2-3 miles in workouts, and they were tough, mostly shorter repeats. I could only manage 6:13 in spikes after 4-6 weeks in Potosi on the dirt track, at a time I had a pr of 5:06. But running was very easy in Sucre after that, and I felt like lightning back at sea level in the U.S. and had a good xc season and was MVP--of a mediocre team--and 16th in the league, and then ran 1:22 for a half marathon, beating the league's 4th place finisher by 2 minutes. My training was very, very sub-optimal, but the altitude training seemed to help a lot.
Have you seen the build of the average Ethiopian superstar? Not exactly long and lanky.