Every year we get the same email, usually in August: “I’m coming from sea level — am I going to be okay?”
Short answer: yes. Runners from Houston, Miami, and everywhere in between cross our finish line every September. But 7,000 feet hits different if you have never raced up here, so let’s talk about how to show up ready.
What altitude actually does
There is less oxygen in every breath up here. Your pace at a given effort will be slower than at home — that is physics, not fitness. The good news: our course climbs just 651 feet, all of it before the mile-9 turnaround — and every foot of it comes back on the way home.
Train where you are
You do not need a mountain to get ready. Run your normal plan, and if you want an edge, add hills — the effort of climbing does a decent impression of thin air. Long runs matter more than fast ones. Nothing about altitude changes the fundamentals: consistent weeks beat hero workouts.
The arrival question
If you can arrive two or three days early, do it — your body starts adjusting within 48 hours, and you get to enjoy Santa Fe while it happens. Can’t swing extra days? Arriving the day before works too. What you want to avoid is landing at noon and racing at 7:30 the next morning after a short night.
Water, then more water
Start drinking extra water two or three days before you travel, not the night before the race. High-desert air pulls moisture out of you with every breath, and dehydration is what makes altitude feel miserable. Go easy on alcohol the first night in town — it hits harder up here.
Race-morning pacing
Run the first three miles by effort, not by your watch. If your usual pace feels strangely hard early on, believe your lungs, not your training log. Most runners find their rhythm by mile four or five, and the drop back down from the mile-9 turnaround gives plenty of it back over the closing miles. Banking time early at altitude is how good races go sideways.
Small stuff that matters
September mornings up here start crisp — think 40s at the start, warming fast once the sun clears the mountains. Dress in a layer you can shed. And sunscreen: the sun at 7,000 feet does not negotiate.
Questions about the course? The mile-by-mile map shows every climb and descent. Still on the fence about racing? Registration is open — and the deferral policy has your back if plans change.
Updated 21 August 2026: the course changed for 2026. This post previously described the old point-to-point route dropping from the foothills into downtown. The race now starts at Romero’s Park in Agua Fría, turns at mile 9, and finishes at Reunity Resources Farm.
See you on the high road.