MEXICO CITY — First of all, let me make one thing clear: I am not an elite runner.
I have done half marathons in the past. A 10k recently. But I have been in America for the past three weeks, eating their portion sizes. To compare myself to a top-level footballer would make anyone who knows me guffaw.
There is something, however, that Harry Kane and I will both have encountered by the end of the weekend. Hopefully Kane and his comrades’ experience won’t be as chastening as mine. Otherwise, the Three Lions are in for a mauling here in Mexico City on Sunday.
Exercising at altitude is literally not for the faint-hearted. England come into Sunday’s last-16 clash against Mexico with the same amount of acclimatisation as I did when I decided to attempt to run around the iconic Azteca Stadium – none.
Much has been made of the huge advantage co-hosts Mexico will have when they take to the pitch 7,000ft above sea level. England have prepared beforehand, spending time in acclimatisation tents and taking advice from the British Olympic Association and Team GB on how to prepare for altitude.
