ST KILDA finished off its two-week training camp in Boulder, Colorado with a gruelling run ending in the iconic Red Rocks amphitheatre.

For decades the famous music venue has hosted packed crowds to watch big name bands such as U2, Fleetwood Mac, The Killers, Oasis and even The Beatles.

There was a sparse crowd on this particular chilly Monday afternoon but the venue still played host to another epic performance when St Kilda’s players pushed their physical limits to the absolute extreme in an exhausting up-hill run.

St Kilda high performance manager Bill Davoren said it was deliberately planned that the last training session of the trip would be the toughtest.

“We knew it was hard. A couple of days ago I was out here running around and I knew it was going to be really hard,” Davoren told saints.com.au.

“Scott (Watters) has reinforced that, he said some of the boys said it was the hardest thing they’ve ever done.”

It was the Saints’ third climb up the Colorado mountains but had a different tempo to the two earlier ones.

Davoren said that was so players had time to acclimatise to the thin air at the high altitude.

“We wanted to build a bit conservatively initially. The idea was to build slowly throughout the camp and finish off strongly in the last couple of days,” he said.

“I think they’ve proven over the past four or five days how much they have improved. They have set a good foundation for coming back next year.”

Davoren has worked with some of the world’s best triathletes but said even he was blown away by the efforts of the St Kilda players.

“Their training has been outstanding. They’ll get better as each year goes by but I’m really pleased with where we’re at for the first time,” he said.

“It sets up a good foundation for training in January and February which is what it is all about.”