UKA/London Marathon Altitude Programme ... - Fidal Lombardia

“We’re offering a fully managed and supported programme with
medical, physiological and nutritional assistance and we’re giving
our athletes the opportunity to benefit from an exceptional training
environment surrounded by world class athletes.
“It doesn’t have to be fancy – the great thing about Kenya, for
example, are the miles and miles of dirt trails; there’s literally
nothing else to do up there but train, which is exactly what they
need to maintain their focus.”
The training environment in Iten – as well as in Font Romeu - is
unprecedented for endurance athletes.
“I loved the experience of Iten,” says Lee Merrien. “It’s a fantastic
environment in all aspects of running life. I had a little bit of an
idea what to expect as friends had been out there already, but I
really liked it – and will be going back to put the finishing touches
to my VLM preparations.”
In addition to the two core camps which run for four to five
weeks in spring (April/May) and autumn/winter (Oct/Nov), smaller
dedicated camps of three to four weeks, as well as Aviva holding/
preparation camps for athletes selected for the annual major
championships will be operational going forward.
This enables a rotational model of exposure to altitude which
is central to the success of the altitude programme and involves
approximately three to six week blocks at high altitude and four
to six week blocks at sea level; this periodisation altitude model
prolongs the time athletes spend at altitude so that the potential
benefits can be maximised over a twelve month period. RF
UKA/London MARAthon (LM) ALtItUde tRAInIng CAMP AnnUAL RePoRt | 23
83
LEE MERRIEN
DISCUSSES HIS
ITEN EXPERIENCE
“Generally, I will use a
training camp in the buildup
to an important race.
This year, for example, I’ve
used a couple of camps in
preparation for the Virgin
London Marathon and last
year I used Font Romeu
before the Commonwealth
Games and the European
Championships. The main
benefit for me is that you
can focus purely on training
and get the rest you need –
without any distractions. It
means you can eat and sleep
like an athlete, perhaps better
than you can in your own
home environment.
“Most days, we’d run as a
group at 7am, although we
also had the opportunity to
run with the Kenyans, and
their runs would start at
6.15am.We would join the
Kenyans on what were their
‘easy easy’ runs. These would
be about 70-80 minutes and
at an average of no faster than
6.30 min/miling, but bearing
in mind the first mile is run at
9 minutes, it gives you an idea
of how much it picks up. It’s a
fantastic time to run as the sun
comes up.We’d run in almost
complete silence: the Kenyans
are incredibly focused.”
As you might expect, with
everything concentrated on
running, the distractions of
everyday life are few and far
between.“We all got very
good at table tennis,” says Lee.
“We did have Internet access,
but the connection wasn’t
great. And we played a lot of
board games – something I
hadn't done for ages.You’re
happy to be relaxing and
doing things like having an
afternoon nap: you just tend
to fall into the Kenyan way of
life, which generally means
that everything’s done at its
own pace.”
A second training session
would then take place later
in the day. Steady runs would
head out at about 5pm, or, if it
had been an interval session
mid-morning, then the second
run would be about half an
hour later.“We’d run twice a
day, every day, and we’d also
do weights,” says Lee.“I was
averaging around 120 miles a
week, but with the altitude, it
be would be worth a bit more
in the UK.”
And how has it helped
his preparation? “If
everything goes well, I’d be
looking at trying to get some
qualifying times at London for
the World Championships,”
says Lee.“Training is going
well: if I don’t run faster than
last year, than something
will have gone wrong. I was
actually in shape at last year's
European Championships in
Barcelona to run quicker than
I did at London, so if I can
push on again from that, I will
get the times I need.”
For more information on the UKA/
LM Altitude Training Camps please
contact UKA National Endurance
Senior Co-ordinator Spencer Barden:
sbarden@uka.org.uk