Triangle Adventure Racing Team

Many areas of the country are affected by air pollution these days. In North Carolina, athletes living in Charlotte, the Triad, Triangle and mountain regions need to be aware of ground level ozone pollution and adjust their training routines accordingly.

Ozone in the upper atmosphere is a good thing, but ground level ozone creates environmental and health problems, including temporary and/or permanent reductions in lung function, increased water pollution and plant damage.

The formation of high ozone levels occurs during the warm, sunny months and the N.C. Division of Air Quality creates daily forecasts from May 1 to September 30. These forecasts contain an Air Quality Index (AQI) value and color code.

As endurance athletes, we should consider ourselves members of a sensitive group as seen in the chart above. When training, we are breathing a lot more polluted air than the average person and are more likely to be affected. Also, it is important to note that the forecast levels are based on 8 hour averaged data. The hourly levels may actually be much higher.

Ozone levels are the highest in the afternoon to early evening, which means that training after work on the weekdays is often a bad choice during the height of the ozone season. On high ozone days the best times to train are in the mornings or late evenings. However, if you are near the mountains, the evening hours may be a poor choice as well, since pollution from other areas is carried by wind and caught in the mountains.

To help racers in the Triangle area, we are gathering hourly data from the Millbrook monitoring site in Raleigh and making it available on the front page of our Web site during the ozone season. It is probably a good idea to check the latest levels before your workout and reschedule any time the current AQI is near the orange level or above.

By: Charlie Roberts