UC Riverside

Welcome to our web site for our elite training at high altitude – Mammoth Lake, CA! Here we have attempted to capture the excitement and energy of UCR's High Altitude Training Camp. It will give you an opportunity to see first hand the training and effort that is going into elevating the UC Riverside Cross Country and Track and Field programs.

The University of California, Riverside Men’s and Women’s Cross Country/Distance Team programs are built on an annualized training program that emulates elite athletes training programs. The corner stone of the elite athlete training program is the high altitude preseason training at Mammoth Lakes, CA. And the improvement has been tangible, as UCR has had a pair of athetes qualify for the 2008 USA Olympic Trials - Brenda Martinez and Lisa Lopez.

Here at UCR we feel energized by a year-round aerobic training program. Seeing athletes make the needed improvement from high school level performances to NCAA Division I level performances has been the hallmark of the UCR distance program.

At UCR, we are fortunate to not have school starting until late September. This allows the cross country team the opportunity to have up to five weeks of elite high altitude training time at Mammoth Lakes, the home of Team USA Elite Training.

We train in a beautiful environment without the distractions of the busy, noisy city life. Mammoth Lakes is a unique, one of a kind training and living experience for UCR athletes. The benefits of this training can be viewed in the chart below, or click here to view a more comprehensive list.

Samples of Individual Improvement
Brenda Martinez	HS Age 16-17	57.5/2:15/4:56 1600m; 10:16 3000m; 18:16 5k XC
	UCR RS Fr. Age 19	56.5/2:04.22/4:21.18 1500m; 9:39 3k; 16:41 5k
	UCR So. Age 20	55.8/2:02.34/4:17.09 1500m; 9:17 3k; 16:27 5k
	UCR Jr. Age 21	54.2/2:00.85/4:09.52 1500m/4:39.56 Mile/20:19 6k XC
		NCAA 1500m runner up/ranked #8 US @ 800m and #10 US at 1500m Top 50 IAAF World Ranking @ 800m
		x
Damajeria DuBose	HS Age 17-18	58/2:18/4:54 1600m/11:11 3200m/18:28 5k XC
	UCR Fr. Age 18-19	57.7/2:13.85/4:37.23 1500m/18:08 5k/17:31 5k XC/21:25 6k XC
	UCR So. Age 19-20	9:55i 3k/17:20 5k/17:29 5k XC/21:15 6k XC
	UCR Jr. Age 20-21	2:09.08/4:24.41/9:56i 3k
	UCR Sr. Age 21-22	2:06.22/4:20.04/9:29i 3k/17:08 5k XC/20:16 6k XC
		x
Raquel Hefflin	HS Age 17-18	60/2:11.12/5:25 1600m/20:00 5k XC
	UCR Fr. Age 18	59.6/2:11.02/4:33 1500m/4:57i Mile/18:46 5k XC/22:28 6k XC
	UCR So. Age 19	2:08.25/4:24.27/9:38i 3k/17:46 5k XC/ 21:08 6k XC
	UCR Jr. Age 20	2:08.03/4:27.69/17:40 5k XC/20:34 6k XC
		x
Michael Buell	HS Age 17-18	2:05/4:40 1600m/10:12 3200m
	UCR RS Fr. Age 19-20	15:35 5k/ 25:59 8k XC
	UCR So. Age 20-21	8:44 3k/15:27 5k/25:39 8k XC
	UCR Jr. Age 21-22	15:06 5k/24:49 8k XC
	UCR Sr. Age 22-23	8:30 3k/14:29 5k/30:03 10k/24:42 8k XC
		x
Chad Hall	Big Bear HS	1:57/4:09/8:58
	UCR XC Fr./TF So.	24:04 8k, 3:44.12 @ 1500m, Big West 5k Champion, NCAA & USA National Qualifier at 1500m
	UCR So.	23:44 8k, Big West XC All Conference, 31:21 10k XC – All West Region
	UCR Jr.	23:24 8k, Big West XC Runner Up, 30:16 10k XC - All West Region 10th Place, 4:04 Indoor Mile
	UCR Sr.	23:18 8k, Big West XC Champion & Athlete of the Year, 29:28 10k XC – All West Region 8th Place
		Big West Track 10K Champion & 5k Runner Up

Training Schedule

As you can see the elite cross country and distance team takes our training and preparation seriously and has an elite level of expectation in how we conduct ourselves as individuals in the classroom and in training and competition. We strive for the highest level of NCAA Division I and even USA Track and Field/Cross Country.

Basic Training Week at High Altitude Training Camp
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total Volume
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Morning	Morning	Morning	Morning	Morning	Morning	Morning
x
Miles: Men: 10-12 Women: 8-10	Miles: Men: 13-15 Women: 11-12	Miles: Men: 7-9 Women: 6-8	Miles: Men: 12 Women: 10	Miles: Men: 7-9 Women: 6-8	Miles: Men:17-20 Women: 15-17	Miles: Men: 9-11 Women: 7-9	Men: 90-115 Miles Women: 80-95 Miles
x
2.5 mile warmup Running drills 8.60m sprints at Shady Rest Sports Park 30-45 min aerobic run	2 mile warmup Lactate Threshold at Green Church Road Women 7.5 miles Men 9-10 miles 2-3 mile warm down	45-60 min recovery run (flat/soft) at meadow loop	Men: 2 mile warmup MVO2 Women: 4xMile Men: 6xMile With 1k at goal pace 60m 2 min float (at Shady Rest)	45-60 min recovery run (flat/soft) at meadow loop	Endurance—High Aerobic at 75% 1hr 45 - 2 hrs (at Upper-Lakes Basin/Antelope Valley Rd to Hot Creek)	Recovery Run 60-75 mins at 65%
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Afternoon	Afternoon	Afternoon	Afternoon	Afternoon
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Men: 5-7 Miles Women: 4-6 Miles	Men: 5-7 Miles Women: 4-6 Miles	Men: 5-7 Miles Women: 4-6 Miles	Men: 5-7 Miles Women: 4-6 Miles	Men: 5-7 Miles Women: 4-6 Miles
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1.5 mile job warmup + strength training/ core stabilization strength focus 3.5-6 mile aerobic run	1.5 mile job warmup + strength training/ core stabilization strength focus 3.5-6 mile aerobic run	30-45 min recovery run or 30 min pool run	1.5 mile job warmup + strength training/ core stabilization strength focus 3.5-6 mile aerobic run	30-45 min recovery run or 30 min pool run
x

High Altitude Training Blogs
2012	2010	2008	2007
Seth Totten	Brett Valencia	Daniel Lindstrom	Raul Lara
Brianna Simmons	Brittany Reimer	Jenessia Navarro	Danielle Evans
		Danielle Evans

In his own words, Coach Irv Ray describes high altitude training (excerpt taken from the 2008 UC Riverside Cross Country Media Guide):

Q: Each year you take your teams to Mammoth Mountain for preseason training. What is the purpose of that training and how did things go this preseason?

A: I have advanced degrees in exercise physiology and understand the science of training for distance running. The science tells us that altitude training, training in thinner atmospheres, changes the athlete’s physiology.

Physiology is something we can’t see – it’s on the inside. We are the only program in the country that has the ability – other than schools who are already at altitude like Northern Arizona and Air Force Academy who are there full time – but for a sea level school to go for 30 days and actually change our physiology is really important. All the red blood cells in physiology that are created at altitude last for 100 days. So we can see the benefits all the way through cross country season.

So the reason for going is to change physiology, make the athletes stronger and more adept at distance running, and then knowing that what we do is going to last until the end of the cross country season is a boost for our athletes. Since we don’t have a team of national champions we have to train smarter and train harder to get to the levels we’re trying for. Also, it’s a time when the athletes can focus on themselves to achieve personal development and changes.

Running successfully is not just about the science: you have to have it emotionally, mentally, and physically. To have good performances you need to be in a great state of balance in life. This gives them the opportunity to learn that balance, to organize their day around training, running, and lectures. This will give them a chance to be better and focus. It’s really difficult once we come back and they’ve got school and so many other distractions that get in the way of elite athletes.

By the way, at Division I it is elite time! Whether you’re in basketball, football, track and field, or cross country, it’s the best in the world that competes in the NCAA at the national level. And so for our athletes to attain that level they need to be pretty organized and focused on what they’re doing.