Robertson in high altitude training

On the dusty red clay trails criss-crossing the hills near Iten in Kenya's Rift Valley, New Zealand distance runner Jake Robertson is putting in high-altitude hard yards and dreaming of the Olympics.
Whether it's next year's London Olympics or the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro - or both - the 21-year-old's not too bothered. Just so long as he gets there.
That's looking increasingly likely, given the 5000m specialist's recent inclusion in an eight-strong New Zealand team to contest next month's world championships in Daegu, South Korea.
His promise as a long-term prospect was underlined in May when he ran 13 minutes 22.38 seconds for seventh over 5000m in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
His time bettered the 13m 27s B standard for Daegu, and meant he joined a high-quality team including Beijing Olympic medallists Val Adams (shot put) and Nick Willis (1500m), and Commonwealth Games 800-1500m double silver medallist Nikki Hamblin.
New Zealand will have two 5000m runners, Robertson and Beijing Olympian Adrian Blincoe, who bettered the A standard with a 13m 18.27s effort in Spain this month.
Hamilton-born Robertson's road to the world championships via the rarefied atmosphere at 2500m in Kenya's Keiyo District began five years ago, at the junior world cross-country championships in Fukuoka, Japan, where he met some Kenyans.
Joined by twin brother Zane - a 1500m runner now based in Ethiopia - Robertson was 17 when he made the move. He admitted to tough times in making the adjustment, at first at a training camp in Kaptagat, then at Iten, the high-altitude training centre of Kenyan running.
But the two New Zealanders received help from an unexpected quarter: Kenyan Saif Saaeed Shaheen, now running for Qatar, who holds the world 3000m steeplechase record at 7m 53.63s.
"We were coming to Iten for weekends and staying out the back of a bar, a single room," Robertson remembered. "My friend from the world cross, when he saw where we were living, he was like 'no way, I've got to help you'.
"First thing the next day, he found us a house right away, next to him and we lived there."
In the four years since, Robertson has lived, breathed and run the Kenyan way of life. He's learnt Swahili and - coached by 1992 Olympic steeplechase silver medallist Patrick Sang - embraced a different approach to training. The New Zealand emphasis on tracking weekly mileage has been replaced by a more relaxed attitude.
"Normally we focus on listening to our own bodies, no matter what the group is doing. If you're feeling tired, you don't do the speed work, or you just have an easy day, take a rest. The programme is set, but the coach says 'listen to your body' and if you do need rest, that's what's going to be best for you. There's no point continuing to push on."
An early start, heading out around 5.30am, without breakfast in pre-dawn African darkness, takes care of the first run of the day. It might be a shorter run followed later in the day by a block of track work, or it could be a more intense session lasting up to 90 minutes.
A real emphasis is placed on gym work, especially in the off-season, which is replaced by a shift to working on core strength while racing.
The approach has paid dividends for Robertson and he has been able to race in both Europe and Kenya against quality opposition. "I'm comfortable here, I feel this is like home. If I'm not here, it's not training." NZPA