Hello, I am training for the San Diego R&R marathon at the end of May. I have seen alot of articles about training for races at altitude when living at sea level, but I am doing the opposite. I live in Carson City, NV which is at 4800' and hilly. Will I feel much of a boost when I run the race at sea level or should I aim to keep the same pace as I run at home? I have been consistantly cycling for 20+ years with sporatic periods of running thrown in. I decided to commit to this race in October and have been running exclusively since then. I am really enjoying the change and the progress I have seen. I am up to 11 miles on my long runs with 19 weeks to go. I will be 46 by the time of the race.
thanks,
Kary

Yes you will definitely feel that running at sea level is easier, maybe as much from the hills as the altitude. I train in Tucson in a hilly area and the hills have definitely made a difference in my marathon running. You will almost certainly run at a faster pace than you're training pace. Assuming you get up to one or two 20 milers toward the end of your training I think you will be surprised how much faster you will be in the marathon. Good luck

Hi Kary, I'm thinking about the SanDiego RR marathon in May also. I live here in Carson and run between 10 and 12 miles weekly and would like to increase my milageweekly. Do you train with a partner? Where do you usually run? Laurie