More specifically, it is East Africans that usually win major marathons. Since the Olympics, men and women from Kenya and Ethiopia have dominated the And East African women have worn the laurel wreath 21 times in the last 24 years at Boston. And perhaps the greatest marathon runner of all time is Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge who recently became the first human to run the The feat won't count as a world record because Kipchoge was not running in competition, he used pacers and he was given fluids on the run.
The event was staged to allow Kipchoge to challenge the 2-hour mark. But even before that attempt, Kipchoge was dominating the world marathon scene, having won gold medals eight times in major, globally recognized, marathons and breaking his own world marathon record of when he won the London Marathon at Kenyans and Ethiopians also have dominated runners from other African nations in races on that continent.
And on Oct. So much so, runners from around the world go there to train before major races. Running aficionado and author Adharanand Finn spent a lot of time in the town trying to find out the secret to Kenyan marathon runners.
And when I saw there was no book, or at that time no films, on the subject, I decided to go there and write one. His book , "Running with the Kenyans," gives more insight into what he found out. And there is no one major secret, he says. It's not one thing but a perfect storm of elements that come together in Kenya's Rift Valley region to make the people there so strong at distance running," Finn says.
There's the location, the way of life, the environment. Then there is the simple diet, the lack of junk food, and the perfect running terrain rolling hills, dirt roads all over the place," he says. And if that doesn't lure you in, there's the proximity to international elite runners to motivate anyone. Almost every village has someone who has come back from 'abroad' with winnings, and these stars are very accessible and open to supporting the younger athletes.
As a result, everyone who can run, aspires to be a runner, he says. This attracts agents, sponsors, coaches This is an obvious benefit, and elite runners from all nations will spend part of their year living at altitude to help improve the capacity of their lungs to speed them along. But the advantages gained from being born and raised at altitude, like most East African athletes, are much greater.
Indeed, it is thanks to their upbringing that the East Africans gain the biggest head start. When I arrived in Iten I thought these stories were perhaps exaggerated or a myth, but on each dawn run, as I ran along the dirt roads, past mud huts and women laden with firewood, I would inevitably be joined by children on their way to school, gliding along effortlessly beside me, carrying bags and wearing sandals or in bare feet. The bare feet, it turns out, are also part of the recipe.
Growing up without shoes, without protective cushioning under your feet, means you learn to connect with the ground and move more efficiently, as your brain responds to the senses on the soles of your feet. Watch any leading Kenyan compete and they seem to glide, barely touching the ground. This almost perfect form comes in part from growing up running everywhere without shoes. Top Kenyan runners, almost without exception, hail from rural backgrounds where, after running to and from school daily, they then have to herd sheep or fetch water or dig the land.
This tough upbringing gives them a base fitness and strength incomparable to the vast majority of Western teenagers. This strong foundation then feeds into the most inspiring running community on Earth. In the small town of Iten, for example, there are around 2, full-time runners, crisscrossing each other on the dirt roads every morning like commuters in any other part of the world. In , Kipchoge not only won the Berlin Marathon: He also broke the world record , completing 42 km Earlier this year, he ran the second fastest marathon in history, in London.
Kipchoge, then, is virtually unbeatable over the km distance. This raises questions about his physical and mental strength and willpower. How does he do it?
Is he superhuman? Since the Rome Olympics, Kenyan runners have enjoyed unparalleled dominance in distance running events, from m to the marathon. Together with their Ethiopian neighbors, Kenyan athletes have not only dominated long-distance Olympic races but have also dominated the world cross-country and road-racing circuit.
So it is not surprising that questions abound about what makes Kenyan runners so talented. A plethora of studies have sought the answer, or answers. And they have come up with several possible reasons to elucidate the phenomenal performance of Kenya runners.
I have come to my own conclusions based on research that I have conducted on various aspects of Kenyan athletes over the past two decades. I have published several research papers on the subject.
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