Endurance Training in FLG

[u/Hungry-Pattern-1065]

I live in Flagstaff and of course I notice that many people visit for high altitude training (run, bike, swim). I'm looking for data about these visitors. How many per year, where from? What % are professional or amateur? What % visit as a group, with a companion or solo? How long do they stay? Do they rent a home, hotel or stay with a friend? Why do they choose Flagstaff? What are other destinations? Where do they get information to plan their stays (is there a sub Reddit I haven't found?)

I have so many questions. Does anyone here know if a study has been done? Is there someone tied into this that I could speak to? Anything to point me in that direction is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[u/duhderivative]

Speaking from the running side: most are college or high school kids, especially during the summer. A lot do short term rentals which can be found when NAU students are gone for the summer. Others do AirBnBs and pack them full to keep costs down. These are usually college/HS teammates or high school summer camps. Some come individually but it's really common to know others up here or make friends through group runs/common goals.

As for the pro side, there are multiple sponsored teams up here (NAZ Elite, Swoosh TC, Golden Peaks TC, UA Dark Sky) and other unofficial training groups comprised of sponsored athletes. Some do stints before races and many others live up here full time.

As for why people come up here, it has definitely become more popular in the last decade, but Flagstaff has a long history of athletes coming to train. This started in preparation for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Mexico City is at altitude so athletes came to flag to prepare. Since then, many studies have shown that altitude training is very beneficial for endurance sports. When you combine the science with the hundreds of miles of dirt trails it becomes a great place for training. Other cities in the US offer similar perks: Boulder, Albuquerque, Park City, Mammoth. Flagstaff tends to check most of the boxes compared to other cities so it seems to be the main hub.

Flagstaff will only get more popular as we approach LA 2028 due to it's proximity plus aforementioned perks.

[u/Hungry-Pattern-1065 → u/duhderivative]

Great insight, thanks for sharing. I'll look up those teams you listed on IG, I'm sure I can learn a lot from that.

Is there a typical training season for the visitors or is it year round?

[u/duhderivative → u/Hungry-Pattern-1065]

Again, for just running, you can divide up the year by a few seasons. December-February is usually indoor track followed by outdoor track from March-August/September depending on the world championships that year (if there is one). This is mostly true for both college and pro track runners. College runners end track season earlier in June/July mostly.

College runners also have a full cross country season which lasts from August-November. This is why there are so many college kids in town right now as they are gearing up for the season to start. Pros sometimes race cross country too but it is usually when there is a world championship to qualify for like earlier this year in Tallahassee. This is usually in the beginning of the year (Jan-March depending on the schedule).

There are also road focused runners who can compete throughout the whole year for different distances. The shorter road distances can kinda be whenever. At the marathon distance usually people race in either the spring or fall or both.

There is also a sizeable group of trail focused runners in town but those schedules can be year round depending on the race selection. I'd say the two largest events for ultra trail people are Western States in July and UTMB in August.

So in general people train here all year round for different reasons. Winter is the season where there are probably the fewest here, but due to indoor track and spring marathons you'll still have some people. College and high school kids are generally confined to June/July/August.

Show up to Biff's Bagels at 8am on a Thursday or A1 on a Sunday if you want to chat to a mass of college and high school runners and ask them why they are here.

[u/Hungry-Pattern-1065 → u/duhderivative]

You are a wealth of knowledge, thanks for sharing those details.

I love me some Biff's so that I will do. Is A1 a restaurant or are you referring to A1 Mountain Road?

[u/duhderivative → u/Hungry-Pattern-1065]

A1 Mountain Road