Upon seeing my primary care doctor for a routine physical, I was reminded once again of the advantages of Rocky Mountain living.  She ordered the routine blood test panel to check cholesterol, glucose, etc. as a benchmark of my overall health.   As she went through the test results, everything appeared within range and normal until she got to the hematocrit levels which were elevated.   My doctor quickly reassured me that although the levels were out of range, not to worry, since we lived at 8200 feet. Hematocrit measures the percentage of red blood cells, and living at altitude can greatly alter the levels of hematocrit in the blood. In fact, you could say that living at altitude is like a natural form of blood doping.

Blood doping is somewhat widespread among professional and elite athletes as a way to gain advantage during competitions.  You might remember the scandal surrounding Lance Armstrong and his Tour de France wins which were stripped from him, when he was found guilty of doping.  Blood doping is using blood transfusions to inject more red blood cells into the bloodstream.  More red blood cells is thought to improve aerobic capacity and stamina.  Living at high altitudes gives mountain residents this advantage through natural means.

Athletes are well aware of this advantage and will frequently take up residence in high altitude Colorado communities or other mountain communities to gain benefit.  An old mantra says to “sleep high, train low”, referring to the idea of gaining the benefit of more blood cells, but training at lower elevations to boost endurance.  It’s probably no accident that the Olympic Training Center is located in Colorado Springs, so that Olympic athletes can glean that high altitude advantage as well.

I’m no Olympic athlete, but I can tell you that climbing a Fourteener, while never easy, is significantly less taxing when living at 8200 feet than from lower elevations.  Bryon climbed his first Fourteener when we were living at 4800 feet in western Colorado and got a terrible case of altitude sickness while descending.  But after living here for two months, climbing nearby Longs Peak really didn’t seem so bad, thanks to all those copious red blood cells.

It’s particularly advantageous when you live and train at 8200 feet, and then participate in a sea level competition.  Several years ago, we ran in the Bay to Breakers 12k foot race in San Francisco.  I had run the B2B many years ago while living in San Francisco, and remember the painful run up Hayes Hill in the middle of the race.  But coming from high altitude living, the air seemed thicker and the running easier, allowing both Bryon and me to run a full minute faster per mile, while setting personal bests.

So if you’re looking to conquer some especially demanding physical feats, perhaps consider a change of residence to the mountains of Colorado.  You’ll find that Rocky Mountain high of red blood cells to be particularly helpful in conquering your challenges.

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