Where We Train - Uganda

From the high altitude track in Teryet down the mountain to the Plateau Road, the cream of Ugandan athletes in the NN Running Team are clocking up in the kilometres in a diverse and variable training environment.

Based in the mountainous Kapchorwa district, the group are led by Olympic 5000m champion Joshua Cheptegei and supported by the likes of World marathon gold medallist Victor Kiplangat and Ugandan marathon record-holder Stephen Kissa.

Many of their training routes from their high-altitude base feature punishing climbs of anywhere between 500m to 1000m in length – which hones strength and endurance in the athletes.

Yet while the training routes offer an ideal opportunity for harnessing strength, the group also require the need to develop speed, which has been acquired via several high altitude training tracks and regular trips to the Plateau Road at around 1100m altitude.

Addy Ruiter, who coaches the Ugandan athletes on the NN Running Team, said: “The training options are often too hilly to help develop speed, so once a week we will complete both a track and a tempo session.

We are lucky that we have three training tracks which all offer something slightly different in terms of altitude and underfoot terrain.

“For weekly tempo runs we only need to drive for 25 minutes to go down to a much lower altitude at the Plateau Road. There it is almost flat, so the athletes can put in some top quality training to help develop speed. To have such a low altitude training option so close by is not something that is so readily available for the Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes on the team.”

Based in a beautiful mountain top setting, the six-lane, all-weather Teryet National High Altitude Training Centre Track - at an altitude of 2600m - is often accessed by the NN Running Team athletes.

Opening its doors in 2023, the track is used by the marathon athletes for their longer track sessions and is more regularly used when Cheptegei – the three-time World 10,000m champion – is fine-tuning his preparations for the major championships.

“We also train at a dirt 400m track and a 400m grass track but during the rainy season these are often not available because it can become too slippery,” explains Ruiter. “This is when the Teryet track is very helpful for us to train at.

“It’s availability is its strength but because it is at such a high altitude there is less oxygen available which can make it tough for athletes to train at.”

Sitting close by the track is a 3km all-weather training loop. While not regularly used by the athletes, Ruiter admits that when other routes become too muddy because of heavy rain this is a handy alternative.

Other training tracks in and around Kapchorwa other options.

The group can access a grass track at a lower altitude of 1875m, which makes it easier to run at a higher pace, although as the Dutch coach emphasises it is far from perfectly flat.

“The track has some altitude differences of about one-and-a-half metres, so it is hard to establish a rhythm,” he explains. “Yet it also needs to be considered that sometimes major championship 5000m and 10,000m races can be run an uneven pace, so training on the grass track with elevation can help mimic how these races are run.”

A third training track, made from hard-packed dirt, at around 2025m probably offers something approaching a midway ground in terms of altitude and surface.

“In Kapchorwa we often run the hills in training which helps develop natural strength,” he adds. “But it is also important for our athletes to complete track sessions to develop speed and have a nice feeling off track. By contrast, the off-road training routes can be quite unstable and uneven.”

For quality tempo runs the Plateau Road offers the perfect blend of a flatter, low-altitude environment.

Because of the greater levels of oxygen, it can allow the athletes to run at greater speed, while it is also a good opportunity for us to run somewhere flat – which Joshua and the others can’t easily do around Kapchorwa.

With Ruiter supporting the athletes during training on the Plateau Road from his scooter, tempo runs on a quiet side road – largely devoid of cars - around 5km in length, provide the route for tempo runs of anywhere between 8-14km. 

Sunday long runs of up to 45km are also completed on dirt track in an area pre-dominantly covered by fields of maize and beans. Offering a better quality soil – less impacted by the rain – than at a higher altitude, the Plateau Road provides a reliable and consistent option for quality long runs.

From the mountainous trails of Kapchorwa, to the wide selection of tracks options on offer to the low altitude Plateau Road, Ruiter is convinced the diverse training menu has been a key component in the success of the group.

Considering we work with such a small group of runners, it is incredible to think we have achieved the results we have and I think one of the key reasons has been our rich training environment.