Posted: February 13, 2005

Athletics: Nike's Oregon Project & HydroWorx Treadmill Pools Team Up to Revitalize U.S. Long Distance Running

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Alberto Salazar has equipped his group of elite runners with the finest technology available in his experimental, high-tech training program called the "Oregon Project."

HydroWorx pools play a major role in the Oregon Project whose five year mission is to take American runners to the top of the sport by training harder and smarter, and by taking advantage of modern technology and science.

The program involves sophisticated software that monitors organ function during workouts, vibrating platforms that help build running muscles, high-pressure oxygen chambers that speed muscle healing, and simulated high altitude living conditions that help increase lung capacity.

And of course, they run -- sometimes as many as 120 miles per week. Unfortunately, that's not enough. Kenyan runners, who currently dominate the sport, usually run 180 to 200 miles per week.

That's where HydroWorx comes in.

The heart of the HydroWorx pool is a variable speed underwater treadmill, directional water jet system and an underwater video feedback. This technology allows the runners to exactly replicate their running form on land at a fraction of their real weight. Runners can tack on about 60 extra miles per week without over-stressing their bodies.

The HydroWorx pools are equipped with headphones connected to a sound system and a special mask to simulate high altitude while running on the underwater treadmill system integrated into the bottom of the pools. In essence, the Nike runners feel it is a double whammy ... they get low-impact running in the pool and they receive the high altitude benefits during the same training session.

"I feel these pools and their underwater treadmills will help revitalize long distance running in the U.S. We can increase the mileage our guys run without increasing the wear and tear on their joints," Salazar said.

"This is what's missing at colleges. They spend millions on football and basketball but won't spend $50,000 for one these (HydroWorx) tanks," Salazar told the press recently.

HydroWorx formed in 1995 in Middletown, Pa. It now serves professional and college sports teams, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and even residential customers in 42 states and three countries.