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Track & Field
Track & Field manual
Altitude Training Nutrition: A Colorado Coach's Guide
A Colorado coaching guide to food access, hydration operations, travel preparation, and clinician-routed health concerns when athletes train or race at altitude.
Why this matters
Colorado programs need altitude routines, not altitude trivia. Iron, hydration, and travel planning have to become program habits.
Read time
6 min
Audience
Coach
Use it for
Track & Field
Start here
Altitude nutrition works best as a program habit, not a last-minute reminder.
Coach prompt
This week, identify the one part of your Colorado routine that is still improvised: iron testing, hydration, or meet-travel fueling.
Quick reference
Topic snapshot
The printed sheet
Read time
6 min
Audience
Coach
Best next move
Use it this week
[ ] Forecast and heat policy reviewed
Quick reference map
Use the topic like a clear checklist
Overview
Altitude is the baseline, not the exception
Jump to this section and use it like a coaching quick reference.
Reference
What the Colorado landscape changes
Jump to this section and use it like a coaching quick reference.
Protocol
What the altitude system should include
Jump to this section and use it like a coaching quick reference.
In the library
Format
Read the topic here, then download the PDF only when you need an offline copy.
Best use
Open the sections you need, then share the same topic link with coaches, parents, or athletes.
Recognizable options
What this can look like at the store
These are familiar examples, not a required shopping list. Use the food category to find an option that fits your athlete, budget, and allergy needs.
Brands are shown only as concrete examples, not endorsements. Ingredients, labels, and availability can change; check the current package for allergens and fit. Image sources and rights notice.
Colorado reality
Altitude is the baseline, not the exception
For Colorado programs, altitude is not something to think about once before a big invitational. It changes the training baseline every day through oxygen availability, appetite, respiratory water loss, and iron demand.
That means nutrition at altitude is not about elite-camp theory. It is about program habits that protect daily training and recovery.
- Calories drift up even when the mileage looks the same.
- Hydration losses are less visible and easier to miss.
- Ferritin becomes a bigger coaching priority, not a niche conversation.
Field map
What the Colorado landscape changes
Monument
7,100 feet
A genuine high-altitude training environment.
Colorado Springs
6,035 feet
Altitude load is still substantial for daily training and racing.
Denver
5,280 feet
Normalized locally, but still physiologically different from sea level.
Sea-level travel
Lower respiratory load, different race feel
Hydration and appetite patterns change when teams leave altitude.
Program protocol
What the altitude system should include
Iron
Screen ferritin before the season and after hard blocks
Treat fatigue trends seriously before they become obvious performance drops.
Hydration
Add fluid above sea-level habits
Respiratory water loss is higher, so the athlete has to drink on purpose rather than by feel alone.
Heat + altitude
Protect August more aggressively
Colorado athletes often stack dry air, heat, and early-season load all at once.
Travel
Adjust the plan when going to sea level or hosting visiting teams
Meet-week messaging should change when altitude is part of the trip, not the background.
Unlock the rest of the manual
Full access opens every section and the ebook PDF.
Evidence
References
The sources behind this topic. Where a citation carries a link, it opens the record so you can check the original.
- 1.Stellingwerff T, et al. Nutrition and altitude: strategies to enhance adaptation, improve performance and maintain health. Sports Med. 2019;49(Suppl 2):169-184.PubMed 31691928
- 2.McDermott BP, et al. National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Fluid Replacement for the Physically Active. J Athl Train. 2017;52(9):877-895.PubMed 28985128
- 3.Casa DJ, et al. National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Exertional Heat Illnesses. J Athl Train. 2015;50(9):986-1000.PubMed 26381473
What to do next
Use it this week
[ ] Forecast and heat policy reviewed
Related tool
Event-specific nutrition
Match the guidance to the event group.
Open event-specific nutritionSource topics
altitude training nutrition • Colorado cross country nutrition • high altitude running • altitude athlete health • altitude hydration • Colorado Springs running