Why do American men distance runners suck?

Read my post above in which I make some of the same points. It's a combination of factors, not just one item. If it was purely elevation, then the Nepalese and Tibetans should be winning road races and Olympic medals. (Well, maybe the Lung-gom-pa runners of Tibet could... if they desired to compete and weren't quite so reclusive.)

two wrote:

People crap on about how africans run to school and back everyday, but I have heard from a number of sources that mosty this is complete bullshit - the Mottram doco he even says that Kenyans "catch a bus"!

Regarding Kenyans running to/from school, the truth is in between. I've been to Eldoret and Iten. There aren't school buses to pick up the kids and drop them off (nor moms driving gas-guzzling SUV's to do that either). Nor would families spend good money for their kids to ride a matatu to school (there's no such thing as discretionary money in rural Africa).

I have a friend (non-runner) who is a native Kenyan (Kalenjin) and lives in Eldoret. He was my host when I visited him a couple of years ago. He actually started a school in his small village on his property because the local school was too far away for the younger kids (essentially K & 1st grade) to walk to. Now the small primitive school has 100+ kids through all the grades and is bursting at the seams.

Not all Kenyan kids "run" to school, but kids will be playful and kids like to compete against each other so it does happen. Kenyan schools don't have lunchrooms or cafeterias so some kids do run home and back for lunch. Others bring lunches. It varies.

Bottom line though, Kenyan kids run, walk, play, and are on their feet far, far more than American kids. And they eat much more nutrious foods than American kids.

You don't see much obesity in Kenya... unless possibly a Kenyan is wealthy, older, lazy, or works/lives in a city. You definitely won't see an obese kid in rural Kenya.

REad "Train Hard, Win Easy" its all explained in there.

ummm

why do YOU suck?

...OH!

1 As I keep saying an immigrant has the real american spirit probably a lot more than a lazy whoever who was born here and instead of seeking out opportunities all he can do is buy chinese made US flags at Walmart and paste his car with ignorant nationalistic stickers (all made in China, as well).

2. Not all distance runners suck in the US. I do horribly, but many are all right.

yes ,yes. I agree more people. Yes.My last post was more about coaching and athletes responses. It seems we may be too caught up in the methods instead of what the individual is experiencing at the time. There may be too much emphasis on running hard when someone needs to back off. The training becomes more important than the actual progress. I think what tends to happen as date pace becomes an obstacle and the choice to push to these levels are premature. This is conjecture, but I believe from what I see and what I hear that this may not be too far off the mark.Solution: Metrology second, to how the athlete is recovering. Make sure the athlete is making progress and if progress is not interrupted. Cutting way back on miles and intensity may be useful. I think many people ignore the signs of over fatigue in general. Seasons too long and workouts not spaced far enough apart or easy days not easy or whatever. No progress in my view is a red flag. If there is no progress in ten days, there is something that needs to be done, and that involves cutting back on the two Qs quantity and quality. This needs to be done long enough to start the trend of improvement. After that, continue to train way back for a week and then add more stress. Improvement is the key, not the training or the miles or the workouts.

jtupper wrote:

I think our current runners do have the desire, determination, and every other psychological and training quality needed to be successful, but it just may be that we do not have the proper individuals involved (or enough of them). The men and women who are doing their best for us right now, may actually be doing more than you would find going on in some other countries, but you still need to get the right people (which also means more people) out there doing it.

Here is the answer to your question.Two reasons. Americans would rather play with their video games and listen to their ipods at an early age rather than do some physical activity after school.Plus, you gotta realize the sport of running is a punishment in other sports... "if you don't run this play the correct way... you will run extra after practice". Thus drives potential athletes away.

This is an easy answer.

They don't run fast enough.

Bull crap- Then why does the US dominate at sprints. Why not some other poor country (dont bring up that American sprinter are poor- thats been shown to be BS)

Why do the North Africans in other coutries do so well; ie France.

Its inherent ability PERIOD

The reason why sprinting is where it is in America today is because everyone thinks sprinting 100m is alot easier than running 1500m. In Europe if you are not running a particular time by... say... 14 then you move up to the distance races no rif raf about it. Here in the U.S. if a coach tells a 11.6(hand timed) 14 year old he is not a sprinter and he should consider moving up in events, the 14 year old will either quit or get his parents to talk to the coach and threated to sue if the kid does not continue to sprint.That is why the U.S. sucks in distance.

1) Im sure there are more Americans and peolpe from other countries running distance than Kenyans who attempt distance running. So why dont they succeeed.

2) If sprinting is viewed as easier (in reality its not) then why dont East Africans do it to make money.

3) At the top end of American talent, there still not as good as the East Africans. So there you have a polulation already commited and still dont do well enough to compete w/kenyans.

4) Why do North East Africans succeed in other coutries, including in America