********WHAT MAKES KENYAN RUNNERS TICK?*******

Does anyone know if Saltin's ever studied Ethiopians or Moroccans?

NativeSon wrote:

Kenya is undoubtedly the finest middle and long distance running country on the planet. What gives these runners an advantage over their opponents?

Is it the altitude, mental attitude, body structure, food, running to school or none of the above?

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/sport/story/0,6903,348572,00.html

running every where you go. and then after you get home, your chasing goats around and plowing fields. america should do that for several centuries or the remainder of this current millenium. there would be many more americans reaching the podium stand.

trackhead, I wonder if we're wasting our time telling the kids to do more training, they seem more interested in who's on drugs. many of them just cant grasp the notion that running decent mileage for years is quite an important factor.

Paul Tergat had a more Western approach to being brought up - he walked 400 yards to school. Today's kids are computer-glued, but I think the current generation of American kids played the same way as somelike, like say Tergat, did.

As in as much as ST Patrick's HS in Kenya is a boarding school - Nobody ran to school(!)

Yes lots of Kenyans do/did run to school but as many did not. Quote Lydia Cheromei, "Only if I was late..."

Of course there are many examples of "Did run..." However US athletes should not be brainwashed into thinking this is the reason hence they will give up running as a lost cause.

My belief is the Mighty Dollar makes a Kenyan tick, and the many things that $$ brings.

but more than not, i think we can agree that the average kenyan runs more than your average american

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i'm not saying it's a lost cause -- i'm saying that the east africans have a huge lead on us, we're behind them in volume run. it takes a while to catch up to that. here's a piece from a de Oliveria interview which illustrates my point:

De Oliveira uses the experiences of Kenya to provide one illustration of his point. ?Those young athletes ran long distances to school for many years, and in doing so, they developed day-by-day into excellent middle-distance runners, even at an early age. In the US or in western Europe, people drive to school or ride school buses. This means their runners are at the same point at a much older age than those in Kenya.?

It's not impossible -- America's primary goal in training it's mid-distance/distance athletes should be to get in aerobic volume, the rest will come.

Absolutely agreed. I believe the current trend of less mileage equals better results needs to be sunk. Obviously the less science involved in running can be often a boon... but the more miles usually equates to a bonus.

Korir, Titus, and Tergat have this is common; during the last three years all of them averaged a huge yearly mileage dose. Korir's training was the least scientific, Titus followed Tergat, and Tergat had the support of Dr. Rosa.

However the disparity between the formated sessions of Korir's long hard tempos and tergat's Italian plan were a rainbow field apart.

I think that the main difference is not genetic, but depends on the activity. A man needs 10-12 years for building his "aerobic house". If you are Gebre, your house can have 60 floors, if you are a normal athlete only 10, if you are an absolutely non talented person may be 3 floors. In any case, time that you have to spend for building your house is the same.

So, if you start running when are 2 years old, and more seriously when are 6 years old, you have built your "aerobic house" when are 18 years old. After that period, you can consolidate your aerobic level, but not to increase it very much. But you can work more in specific way, having a very big base.

Many times, my athletes rest 2-3 months for some injury or necause, winning some money, their motivation in running decreases. When they come back running, their shape is completely down, and they are worse than the most part of European athletes. But, having already their house, in very short time are able to come back to the same previous level, and from that moment they can improve using specific training.

So, the mistake that western people do is to consider only "official" training, without thinking that the base of Kenyans depends on all their life. In Nairobi, for example, nobody runs, and there are no athletes coming from that area.

The real problem is the difference of natural activity when you are young. If you think that 20 years ago, for example, two Portugueses were able running close 27 min, you understand that the problem is not regarding "current Kenyans", of sure less strong than 20 years ago but more motivated and better trained, but "current western people", that day by day is going far away from every type of physical activity.

I agree 100% with the lifestyle differences of active v. inactive. I will also offer another thought. Throughout history, many of the best U.S. boxers have come from the "lowest" ethnic group in terms of income. There were Jewish to Irish to Italian to African American to the current trend of seeing more Latin American champions. It has to do with opportunity and hunger. These athletes saw boxing as one of their only opportunities to be successful, and thus their hunger was inately greater than most others. They practiced more, worked harder, and boxed more intensely. The same can be seen in African Americans and the NBA--although the trend is slowing. I think this applies to Kenyan distance runners as well who, if any talent is perceived, will train with an intensity second to none. This and the combination with intense in-country competition makes for a hotbed of distance running. Again, this is just one aspect of why they are good as I don't think you can pin it down on just one or two factors.

Renato,

You and I are on the same page in so many ways.

a thread most worthy of bumpation. Renato Canova is right, the Kenyans are not genetically superior. The best athletes in the world can come from any nation and live at any altitude. It's all in the mental approach to training, lifestyle and racing.

We would be the best in the world if we had a Michael Jordan type personality in track- but we don't. Not only are the top distance guys nowhere near world class, but they are incredibly boring. That's why Gabe Jennings got so much coverage in 2000. He had a personality. He is stil the only current runner my Dad knows about. If we had some superstar personalities we'd be getting kids that want to go out and run. You watch interviews with todays basketball/baseball/football stars, half of them didn't have organized leagues, or even proper equipment, but they were so inspired they went out and used whatever they could to practice for hours and hours every day. We don't have anyone motivating kids to run like that. The best way to improve our running is to start at the top and work down, not the other way. Setting up all sorts or programs for kids to train better won't do anything if you don't have the kids coming out.

I will agree with you here. I played organized baseball, but also spent hours hitting/fielding/throwing the ball against the garage/etc..This is because I was a huge Cardinals fan at the time. I loved to emulate Willie McGee, John Tudor, and others. I didn't even know what running was until my freshman year in HS when I saw runners going around the soccer field and wondered what they were doing.

I don't know what this means exactly in relation to the Kenyan athletes. Are their superstar runners more charasmatic than the US runners? Are they marketed and exposed better?? Or is it just due to the relative lack of competition from other sports? Maybe all three.

Look at the reception Paul Tergat got for setting the marathon world record, and look what KK got in America for setting hte marathon world record in London

what makes 'em tick?

drugs drugs drugs

someone said that today's kids are computer glued. BUT, i read in train hard, win easy, one of the guys in there quit school so he could just run, and when not running, he'd just sit in bed. What's the difference in that and being an american kid and only running, and sitting in a seat w/ your leg propped up, on the computer some?

Dennis, how was the reception that Tergat got ? I must have missed it. Did he get any or was he snobbed ?

He obviously got a huge reception--similar to that of a parade when a US team wins a major championship. That he got a huge reception is not the issue....no one can argue with that. The issue is why a Kenyan runner gets this reception and a US runner who pulls off a similar feat does not--this is what the post is about: what is it about Kenya and Kenyan athletes that causes this type of celebration. I proposed a few ideas (marketability, fewer competitve sports, more charasmatic individuals) but I don't really know--probably a combination of these 3 and some other factors. Either way, a reception,such as the one received by Tergat, is bound to inpire kids to pursue running.