The 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games have kept the minds of sport scientists racing for decades.<\/p>\n
It was an Olympics where some records were smashed beyond comprehension, and others were completely untouchable.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
The answer is up in the air. Quite literally! Mexico City is located 2 2240 metres above sea level where the high altitude and thin air can wreak havoc on the human body.<\/p>\n
Thanks to the organizers of the Columbia Thin Air Challenge (2 March) in Dullstroom, trail runners and mountain bikers can now experience for themselves what it is like to compete at such a high altitude. \u201cIt does not matter whether you cycle or run, competitively or for fun, the challenge is to see whether you have the lungs,\u201d is how the event is advertised.<\/p>\n
Dullstroom (2100m above sea level) is listed in the \u2018Notes from Higher Grounds: An Altitude Training Guide for Athletes\u2019 as \u2018One of the top 15 high altitude training venues for international athletes\u2019.<\/p>\n
Scientists have determined that at high altitudes of 2 000 meters plus, we inhale approximately three quarters of the amount of oxygen molecules that we would at sea level. <\/p>\n
According to Bennie Roux, an up-and-coming trail runner from Centurion, running at such a high altitude is the ultimate challenge for any athlete. \u201cI once ran at Sani Pass which is 2600 metres above sea level. I got quite dizzy while running and battled to breathe properly. The best way to describe my experience is to compare it to driving a car. You push the pedal flat down, but the car does not respond. It feels as if it is not firing on all its cylinders.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Columbia Thin Air Challenge is certainly not just about survival.<\/p>\n
\u201cImagine the early morning sunrise breaking the mist blanketing the dams and streams. Where the absolute silence is only broken with the occasional flick of a gear or tearing of tread on dirt,\u201d is according to the organizers what the athletes will experience while cycling or running.<\/p>\n
The routes will feature natural and hand-built single-track sections with bridges and streams, as well as long climbs and furious descends. \u201cConquer the \u2018Everest\u2019 mountain and, once you’re on top, you’ll be rewarded with long downhills. The only thing that might slow you down is the superb views and wildlife,\u201d is a promise being made.<\/p>\n
Programme:<\/p>\n
Venue: Dunkeld Country Estate, Dullstroom, Mpumalanga<\/strong><\/p>\n Friday 01\/03:\t \t\t\t 17h00 – 21h00 Registration, Dunkeld Estate, Dullstroom, Mpumalanga<\/p>\n Saturday 02\/03:\t\t\t 05h30 – 08h00 Registration, Dunkeld Estate, Dullstroom, Mpumalanga<\/p>\n Saturday 02\/03:\t\t\t 07h30 – 75km BIKE “A”. Batches at 3min intervals<\/p>\n Saturday 02\/03:\t\t\t 07h40 – 40km BIKE “A”. Batches at 3min intervals<\/p>\n Saturday 02\/03:\t\t\t 07h50 – 20km BIKE “A”. Batches at 3min intervals<\/p>\n Saturday 02\/03:\t\t\t 08h00 – 10km RUN<\/p>\n Saturday 02\/03:\t\t\t 08h10 – 05km RUN<\/p>\n Terrain:\t\t\t \t\t\t Mountainous | Forestry | Duel Track | Single track<\/p>\n Elevation:\t\t \t\t\t 2081m<\/p>\n Features:\t\t\t \t\t\t Dams | River crossings | Long ascents & descents<\/p>\n Accommodation Special:<\/p>\n Dunkeld Country Estate\u2019s Reservation desk is offering an event accommodation special for the \u201cColumbia Thin Air\u201d on 2 March 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games have kept the minds of sport scientists racing for decades. It was an Olympics where some records were smashed beyond comprehension, and others were completely untouchable. Why? The answer is up in the air. Quite literally! Mexico City is located 2 2240 metres above sea level where the high […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"featured_location":[],"class_list":["post-22014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22014\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22014"},{"taxonomy":"featured_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bikehub.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured_location?post=22014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}