Dennis Kimetto - what are we Westerners still missing about Kenyan Marathoners?

I had the chance to be with Kimetto at the finish of Chicago with a sponsor, and let me tell you, the man has legs like horses. If he weighs 120lbs, about 100lbs are in his thighs, with racquetball tight calves.

You guys don't realize how muscular these dudes are.. tremendously impressive... like the veins of Max King. I remember racing Khannouchi in Falmouth and I had never seen thighs like his... or Todd Williams in Indy.. just pure MUSCLES, but thick, thick, muscles with power and rage.

Don't be fooled by the thin arms of these guys. It's like thinking Galen Rupp is thin and then seeing his Paul Bunyon-like calves that rival Kilian Jornet's.

genetics blah blah blah wrote:

Kimetto has the same build as me, I am just a lot taller.

Does that mean I don't have ideal genetics for distance running?

Or did he just train more seriously than me?

Please everyone get a grip and stop this stupid sh1t about genetics. They are way more serious about running than we are. It's insulting to my intelligence and to their dedication to the sport to tell them they are more genetically gifted.

A runner is only as good as their conditioning.

Do you train seriously?

Do you still suck after doing so?

Then you don't have good genetics.

Not that hard to figure out. For smart people anyway.

Genetics matter...how much it matters is the question....

You can have 100 highly dedicated Americans and 100 highly dedicated Kenyans, train them from childhood the exact same way and the Kenyans on average will perform better.

Look at this way....take 100 guys under 6 feet tall and 100 guys over 6 feet tall, train them to play basketball from childhood, the guys over 6 feet tall will perform better.

You just said it yourself "Kimetto has the same build as me, I am just a lot taller". Well if you are taller then NO you do not have the same build you are TALLER.

Also it's not just the body build that matters it's what is inside, what is happening in the muscles, that matters. Open up a book, look into the muscular differences in fiber type of westerners vs Kenyans. While you're at it look at the fiber type differences of westerners vs eastern european/nordic populations. Eastern European/Nordic populations dominate strongman/powerlifting. There is a genetic reason for that as well.

Can a Westerner run a sub 2:05 marathon? Yes. I believe as a single performance there shouldn't be a ceiling, but when looking at the depth you are going to see a much higher number of top performances coming from certain groups who have a genetic advantage.

Alan

Kimetto has the same build as me, I am just a lot taller.

Does that mean I don't have ideal genetics for distance running?

Or did he just train more seriously than me?

Please everyone get a grip and stop this stupid sh1t about genetics. They are way more serious about running than we are. It's insulting to my intelligence and to their dedication to the sport to tell them they are more genetically gifted.

A runner is only as good as their conditioning.

___________________________________________________________

Please shut up. You don't have the same build as Kimetto.

Please go out and train as hard as you can, and break his WR

Skinny, tall people who think they have the same build as elite Kenyans are the same kind of older fat guys who wear Speedos to the beach thinking they look good

4 stupid replies. Give me something intelligent to reply to or don't reply.

INTELLIGENT REPLIES ONLY!

If someone said it was OK to try to selectively breed a faster runner, which people would you choose as your breeding stock? What body type would you look for or try to achieve?

Kenyan versus blonde surfer dude American.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfFkfDXpdlE

That's not how it works in running. There is no ideal body shape, that's just your insecurity. What it takes is the right mentality.

Lots of top runners have parents who never ran or did any sport.

You guys are all looking at body shape, and ignoring the will to win. It's just stupidity.

If I offend you, then you know how I feel about your stupid concepts of the ideal runner.

genetics blah blah blah wrote:

That's not how it works in running. There is no ideal body shape, that's just your insecurity. What it takes is the right mentality.

Lots of top runners have parents who never ran or did any sport.

You guys are all looking at body shape, and ignoring the will to win. It's just stupidity.

If I offend you, then you know how I feel about your stupid concepts of the ideal runner.

Well at least you're admitting you are weak and don't have the will to win.

"The will to win"

Rising up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet

Just a man and his will to survive

So many times it happens too fast

You trade your passion for glory

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past

You must fight just to keep them alive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat

Hanging tough, staying hungry

They stack the odds still we take to the street

For the kill with the skill to survive

It's the eye of the tiger

It's the thrill of the fight

Rising up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor

Stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

Why isn't there some fat guy who has a strong will to win who has the marathon WR?

Fat guys don't have the will to win do they?

Next stupid question?

Stupid answer

Are you saying a fat person could not have the will to win a race?

genetics blah blah blah wrote:

That's not how it works in running. There is no ideal body shape, that's just your insecurity. What it takes is the right mentality.

Lots of top runners have parents who never ran or did any sport.

You guys are all looking at body shape, and ignoring the will to win. It's just stupidity.

If I offend you, then you know how I feel about your stupid concepts of the ideal runner.

Troll

You have no way of proving this because you cannot find 100 highly dedicated Americans. Americans do not know what it means to be highly dedicated when it comes to training as a distance runner. Are there any out there? yes. 100. No. It's just like the kid in high school who thinks 15 minutes for 5K is fast before he goes off to a D1 program and his coach tells him to run the first 5k of his 8k race in 15 minutes. After he has made the necessary mental adjustment and actually begun to train in ways he hadn't before, he runs faster than 15 minutes through 5k in his 10k races. Most American distance runners are still in the high school phase of thinking and training when it comes to marathoning. So beyond their comprehension is what it means to work hard and be strong mentally that they resort to talk of EPO and genetics to explain away their (relatively) poor performances.

I'm not trolling, you guys are. Or you are just ignorant.

JuJuman wrote:

Stupid answer

Are you saying a fat person could not have the will to win a race?

When they don't even have the discipline to get in shape?

Give me an intelligent reply.

Why can't you think before you post?

Is it only East Africans that have the dedication?

That would really be unique, that only a small part of the world has the dedication to be good at running

How about sprinting? The success of people of African decent around the world is unquestionable. Are they the ones who are most dedicated?

"When they don't even have the discipline to get in shape?"

Now you're telling me that there are physical characteristics which would make someone better suited to run fast?

Are you just bored at work? He answered that question in his post.