Why don't more African Americans run distance?

RacingtheCanteloupe wrote:

Because most African-Americans are of west African origin, and the conditions of west Africa (low elevation, malarial mosquitos that encouraged sickle cell trait as a resistance) produced more genetic adaptations toward fast-twitch muscle metabolism.

East Africans have the opposite effect. High altitude means less sickle-cell trait, and it also means (among recent altitude migrants like the Kalenjin and the Oromo) that they have better aerobic metabolism.

Africans in general have longer limbs and shorter torsos than Europeans, which is a favorable trait in both long and short distance runners. In a pool of 1,000 Europeans, 1,000 Asians, and 1,000 Africans, you'll find many more Africans with desirable limb geometry for running.

If you really want an answer to this question, read David Epstein's The Sports Gene.

There is still enough Europeans with the right build. You are not looking at averages when looking at elite athletes.

Altitude, environment & opportunity to train or lack of an alternative are the reasons East Africans excel not genes. How many Kenyans born at sea level become champions. Zip that's what and plenty of have long limbs!

Bro, blacks are 6.5% of the California population. With 40 million people, that means there are 2.6 million blacks in California. Just the blacks in California alone would make them the 36th most populated state. Get it together, bro, there are a lot of blacks here, bro.https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045216/06http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/population.shtml

Skinny Gary wrote:

This is true. But, we also have an enormous number of hispanics and asians and like 3 black people in the whole state, so that kind of affects the number of people who you see running...

Three main reasons:

1. Genetics. Most are natural fast twitch athletes.

2. None of the guys want to wear short shorts because they would look gay. The black community is very homophobic.

3. The hood is a terrible place to train.

Actually, just one reason:

They are incapable of running fast. Simple as that.

Tomato Tomato wrote:

Let's call it what it is. When the slave traders went to capture slaves they didn't go after the skinny small guy. They went after the guy who looked like he could bench press a Buick. Now increase that through essentially breeding while slaves in the US. And you now have super athlete for anything that requires raw strength.

Fast forward to the recent past and you combine this with predominately low socio economic status and you don't exactly have someone who can and/or have the luxury to dedicate 7-8 hours of training a week to something as abstract as distance running.

People will call me a racist and that's okay. I had an interview in downtown Chicago. I'm 5-9 and maybe 1% of the adult males were my height or shorter. Most were over six feet and heavy. It is an physiological advantage to be short if you want to be a distance runner. (The women in the church I attended were Amazons and many were close to my height or taller.)

Obviously we are talking generalities here and I would never say this publically. There may be some African Americans that are relatively short like me but if you add the cultural norms in the USA for black neighborhoods to the picture, then we see why change is difficult.

But there is a possibility of a Tiger Woods in the future. Jimmy the Greek was right about the inbreeding. Eventually enough whites will marry blacks and we will see some black kids short enough and bold enough to try distance!

Soccer and South America, West Africa, etc., well maybe there is a higher preponderance of skinny and short athletes in those countries. When was the last time you saw Arnold Swartzenneggar playing soccer? I also think that soccer tends to be more of a power sport than the 5000 meter run!

three reasons yyyy wrote:

Three main reasons:

1. Genetics. Most are natural fast twitch athletes.

2. None of the guys want to wear short shorts because they would look gay. The black community is very homophobic.

3. The hood is a terrible place to train.

All of your points are silly.

1. Most are not fast twitched. No one has done an entire population genetics survey. Regardless, slow twitch fibers can be developed.

2. Not wanting to look gay does not mean homophobic.

3. Not all blacks live in "the hood" nor is it a terrible place to train. Schools have tracks and campuses and parks to train on.

The answer here is culture. None of the sprinters I know have ever even TRIED to run distance. Distance running is not immediately enjoyable. Running fast is (even if you are slow). It is short and exhilirating and liberating. Sprinting is also involved in other popular activities that are MUCH more fun than track (basketball, baseball, football, etc).

Skinny Gary wrote:

hmmmmmm wrote:

In California, you do see more Hispanic and Asian-American kids doing xc.

This is true. But, we also have an enormous number of hispanics and asians and like 3 black people in the whole state, so that kind of affects the number of people who you see running...

Good one!

Oakland is one big track meet after dark, but its all sprinters and they're all on PEDs.

The "right build" is just not about being slender. Being a coach, haven't you noticed a difference in physique between East African and Euro slender guys. How about two NBA players of the same height? One black the other white? You dont see a difference?

Phife wrote:

The "right build" is just not about being slender. Being a coach, haven't you noticed a difference in physique between East African and Euro slender guys. How about two NBA players of the same height? One black the other white? You dont see a difference?

only problem with your little theory there is that typically the worst of the worst white physiques are in basketball. Few whites ever think about being a basketball star. The only reason they may be pushed into basketball is just because they are tall. usually just tall and gangly. if you want to see physiques, see soccer. Soccer players trounce basketball physiques.

potato potato wrote:

]

Super athlete? Now thats funny! African Americans are looked at as people who have a crazy amount of time to play abstract crap like football and basketball since they're all on food stamps and don't work or go to school.

7-8 hours? A friend of mine from the city says they're out there 15-16 hrs a day playing. They're lazy, so they can't play anything that requires more than 10 continuous seconds of movement...which is why basketball and football are perfect with all the stoppages (so basically most of a game is walking around and posing). A block seems far away for them. Distance running? Forget it!

What a racist comment! Unbelievable that this crap is still spewed in American. The likes of RGIII (Baylor) Russell Wilson (Wisconsin) & Richard Sherman (Stanford)...just to a name few, are all "lazy," on "food stamps" and didn’t go to school?

I predict we are in the verge of seeing a Tiger Woods of Marathoning in the USA. Right when people say something is impossible someone comes along and proves fthem wrong. Look at the sub 2:00 attempt. Kipchoge was really, really close and most people were shocked. Don't believe and stupid, neat and tidy comments about genetics. Someone WILL come along and prove you wrong.

Distance running and lacrosse are two of the last "white" sports in American. It is a true that there is a Venom towards "non American Born" distance runners. Usually they are of African Heritage. Hmmmmm do we see a connection here? What will everyone do if a Tiger Woods of marathoning does come? I will be laughing my ass off listening to people come up with an excuse to critique him. AND I do agree that it will happen.

A Tiger Woods? You mean a half Asian, half black whose golf skill was likely from the Asian side?

Speaking of white sports. Don't forget Hockey!!! LOL 😂

three reasons yyyy wrote:

Three main reasons:

1. Genetics. Most are natural fast twitch athletes.

2. None of the guys want to wear short shorts because they would look gay. The black community is very homophobic.

3. The hood is a terrible place to train.

You're forgetting #4: If you're going to bust ass for a while in the hope of making a buck with your athletic talents, you don't throw it all into distance running, because there just isn't that much money in it. You go for basketball, football....or....track?

Hmm. #4 doesn't begin to explain why so many African Americans love the sprints. Because there just isn't much money there, either. And yet the sprints, and jumps, are a "thing" in black communities across America. Surely a combination of nature + culture.

It's funny to see all the posters who imagine that naming a handful of black distance runners somehow invalidates the basic premise/observation. It doesn't.

There's no single, easy answer to the original question. The answer is overdetermined. There are multiple reasons.

There's one possible explanation, however, that strikes me as completely invalid, on the face of it: any answer that uses words like "exclusion" and "racism."

Because running long distances every day for fun is some crazy white people sh*t. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Marathonerx wrote:

Distance running and lacrosse are two of the last "white" sports in American. It is a true that there is a Venom towards "non American Born" distance runners. Usually they are of African Heritage. Hmmmmm do we see a connection here? What will everyone do if a Tiger Woods of marathoning does come? I will be laughing my ass off listening to people come up with an excuse to critique him. AND I do agree that it will happen.

Actually, there are 168 white sports in America and 3 black. Why would you even point out Tiger Woods? As someone mentioned he's not even a real black. There has never been a top black player in golf. Look at the top 100 players now. How many blacks do you see?

Face it, blacks suck in sports but there is a agenda behind the scenes that pushes whites away from a few sports so that blacks can having at least something for themselves and provide viewership.

RacingtheCanteloupe wrote:

Because most African-Americans are of west African origin, and the conditions of west Africa (low elevation, malarial mosquitos that encouraged sickle cell trait as a resistance) produced more genetic adaptations toward fast-twitch muscle metabolism.

East Africans have the opposite effect. High altitude means less sickle-cell trait, and it also means (among recent altitude migrants like the Kalenjin and the Oromo) that they have better aerobic metabolism.

Africans in general have longer limbs and shorter torsos than Europeans, which is a favorable trait in both long and short distance runners. In a pool of 1,000 Europeans, 1,000 Asians, and 1,000 Africans, you'll find many more Africans with desirable limb geometry for running.

If you really want an answer to this question, read David Epstein's The Sports Gene.

I only checked this threat to find this bullshit, which I knew wouid be only a few posts in.

To quickly refute:

1) If West Africans have the best genes, why don't they easily beat their mixed-race new-world cousins?

2) What gene? Which SPECIFIC gene or genes make you fast? Nobody has an answer and nobody ever will. Everyone has the building blocks, it's a matter of development. Epigenetics.

3) East Africans eat less than nearly everyone else on Earth. A talent pool of more than 100 million skinny adults is game over for distance running.

The correct answer to the OP's question is football, the country's most popular sport and nearly a religion in the southeastern US, where AfAm population is high and the hot, humid climate heavily favors sprinting over distance.

The better question is why despite all the millions of whites that run everyday,at international competitions like Olympics,World Championships,they still suck and are barely relevant on the

track.