BEIJING (AP) – The drifting smoke from forest fires sometimes makes it difficult for marathoner Heather Lieberg to take a deep breath during her afternoon training runs in the hills of Montana.
Even on days when the local advisory lists the air quality as “unhealthy for sensitive groups,” Lieberg is out there chugging away through the hazy and hot conditions.
No better way to acclimate her body to what awaits in Beijing for the world championships.
“I’ve literally trained when there’s ash falling on me, where they say ‘Do not go outside,'” said Lieberg, a 36-year-old from Helena. “My lungs are definitely ready.”
Seven years after the Olympics sparked talk of a dramatic clean-up of pollution in Beijing, a milky haze still covers the city on most days and is expected to be there when the marathons take place – Saturday for the men, and Aug. 30 for the women.