In any competitive race, such as a marathon, seconds matter.
In fact, one second can deny an athlete the most sought-after price: gold medal.
For instance, in the 2016 Rio Olympics, a second separated Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling's gold medal from a three-way tie in the 100-metre butterfly.
Dr Ben Levine, from the Department of Internal Medicine UT Southwestern Medical Centre, has extensively studied altitude training.
Levine and his colleague Jim Stray-Gundersen have researched altitude training for 10 years with grants from US Olympic Committee, a move that enabled them to publish the definitive study on altitude training in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
The two researchers found out that elite athletes, including Olympic runners Emma Coburn, Jenny Simpson, Galen Rupp and Paul Chelimo, among others, heavily relied on high-altitude training to shave off precious seconds during their races.
One such area is Kaptagat forest in Uasin Gishu county, which draws elite athletes from all over the world.
Levine and Gundersen refer to high altitude training in sports medicine to generally mean between 7,000 and 8,000 feet above sea level or higher.
Low altitude, on the other hand, is about 4,000 feet above sea level and below.
In high-altitude environments, athletes draw in less oxygen per breath than they would do at lower altitudes.
That means each breath will deliver less oxygen to their muscles.
Sounds awkward?
“This may sound negative, but living in higher altitudes and getting used to breathing thinner air can enhance elite athletes’ athletic performance in competition at lower altitudes,” Levine and Gundersen said.
Living in higher altitudes and getting used to breathing thinner air can enhance elite athletes’ athletic performance in competition at lower altitudes
HOW IT HELPS
Levine and Gundersen say during workouts at high altitude, athletes feel like they are putting forth more effort to perform as well as they do closer to sea level.
The increased rate of perceived exertion is caused by altitude-induced hypoxia, which is a decrease in the amount of oxygen being delivered into the muscles to burn fuel and create energy.
As athletes acclimatise to high altitude, they acquire more red blood cells, which allows their blood to carry more oxygen.
When they compete at lower altitudes, they get a natural boost to their muscles when additional oxygen is available.
These blood-expanding effects can enhance performance in elite athletes by one to two per cent.
While it sounds like a tiny improvement, it can be the difference between missing the final cut for a competitive team and earning a medal.
Eliud Kipchoge, the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of marathons, understands this concept all too well.
In 2019, Kipchoge proved he is indeed the greatest after becoming the first man to run a marathon in less than two hours.
His sterling performance in Vienna, Austria, saw messages pour in from across the globe as fans celebrated the historic feat.
Following his performance, Sir David Brailsford, the INEOS team manager, summed up Kipchoge’s achievement, saying:
“Eliud is a once-in-a-generation athlete, and if anybody deserves to break the two-hour barrier it is him. It was an incredible performance and a privilege to be here.
“It was a great lesson in a very evenly paced run. He was very calm and conservative and the pacemakers took Eliud to the last kilometre for him to bring it home.”
TRAINING IN KAPTAGAT
Apart from being one of the most important natural resources in the country, Kaptagat forest is a training ground of global significance.
Renowned athletes who have found it a perfect spot for high-altitude training have gone ahead to become world champions, earning the forest an even bigger crest.
Yet, years of degradation and deforestation continue to threaten this important ecosystem, threatening its biodiversity and glory in the process.
Aware of the threats facing the ecosystem, Kipchoge decided to give back to nature, which has played a key role in ensuring that his athletics sojourn is unmatched.
“This area is a home of many athletes from outside and within. Most of them have been coming from Japan, Netherlands and Brazil, among many other countries,” he said.
He was speaking during the 6th edition of the tree planting drive in the forest on July 15.
Kipchoge is now giving back to the forest by protecting and conserving Kaptagat forest.
This area (Kaptagat forest) is a home of many athletes from outside and within. Most of them have been coming from Japan, Netherlands and Brazil, among many other countries
“What prompted me to adopt the 50.8ha is that I’m an athlete and I need to breathe good air, run in a soft and good ground. The only way to breathe good air is by conserving the environment,” Kipchoge said.
Kipchoge says when the forest is green and well conserved, all Kenyans are happy.
“We need to protect our forests in order to benefit and get a lot of water, among other benefits,” he said.
Kipchoge says the forest is a unique ecosystem where people, nature and the economy interconnect, and the need to conserve remains critical.
The marathoner says he looks forward to the day he will run a full marathon inside Kaptagat forest to raise funds that will go towards enhancing community livelihoods as well as restoring forests and water resources.
“The next challenge is to create eco-friendly business enterprises for the community inside this forest. Karura is a good example, where there are tracks to cycle, run and just walk,” he said.
He says people pay to enjoy the serene environment, a direct source of revenue to the community.
There is no doubt that climate change is running faster than all of us. We need to do more, do it faster and most importantly, do it better
CRITICAL WATER TOWER
Kaptagat is one of the forests in the North Rift conservation area. It covers 5,600 ha.
The Kaptagat forest ecosystem initially hosted huge areas of bamboo.
Indeed, 'Kaptagat' is derived from the Kalenjin word 'tegat', which means bamboo in the local dialect.
The authorities, led by the Environment ministry and the Kenya Water Towers Agency, have set up a national bamboo demonstration site within a section of the forest.
The forest has sections with exotic trees, such as cypress, eucalyptus and pines, planted mainly to help the government generate revenue.
It also boasts of blossoming sections of indigenous trees, which protect the water tower for the current and future generations.
This is the reason the World Wide Fund for Nature Kenya, through the UK-Pact and Trillion trees and WWF-UK, has donated Sh8.9 million to the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation to facilitate the fencing as well as restoration of the adopted 50.8ha.
And through his foundation, Kipchoge can rehabilitate the 50.8ha he adopted in 2019 after he signed an MoU with the Kenya Forest Service.
Under the MOU, Kipchoge was to rehabilitate and restore the degraded site and later develop the site by establishing a training track and ecotourism site.
Kipchoge says the whole community will benefit from the forest resource by exercising to be fit.
He says Kaptagat is a critical resource that must be protected at all costs.
“We have seen and experienced the negative impacts of climate change, from very cold seasons to the absence of rains,” he said.
“There is no doubt that climate change is running faster than all of us. We need to do more, do it faster and most importantly, do it better.”