1) They train at altitude from the age of 1
2) They train on roads that prevent injuries
3) They aren’t afraid to run a 25 mile run the week before a major marathon. They also train at race pace and hit hard workouts a lot more. 10 miles at marathon pace is laughable for them.
4) every single Kenyan runs. The chance of picking out good talent is much easier. The amount of wasted American talent because people are focused on video games or social media is ridiculous.
5) Their calf dimensions and body structure is literally made for running as a result of thousands of years of running. Americans are designed obese.
6) Their diet is nothing but natural foods.
7) They don’t put certain mileages on their welds. They run how they feel and don’t obsess over mileage or heart rate or Jack Daniel’s pace. They don’t do 20 minute tempo runs. How could you not do well?
8) They double nearly everyday. Americans somehow think singles are better than doubles… delusional
9) it’s their only focus. Career doesn’t come first.
10) They’re mentally tough. They don’t just run the last few miles of a long run hard. Their whole long run is hard.
11) They build their ‘mileage’ over years and years (while listening to their body) slowly squeezing the adaptations out of every single increment.
12) They don’t run big warmups and cooldowns for the sake of it. They focus on the workout at hand.
13) They run tough workouts almost year round. They don’t ever just run easy mileage unless they’re in a 2 or 3 week buildup.
14) They’re used to running hard without fuel. Their body has adapted and doesn’t become useless the second they’re missing a gel.
15) They don’t worry about percentages. 80/20 rules, 25% of weekly mileage is a long run, 10% mileage increases. In fact they’d probably laugh at that.
16) They race much more.
17) They run real long runs (25-28 miles) because they know an 18-22 miler isn’t sufficient.
18) They run fartleks which let them know listen to their body and understand pace. Americans in a race forget that the race isn’t 10x a mile and end up confused when they actually have to run 26.2 miles straight. Running for time instead of km also helps them listen to their body.
19) They work as a team. They help their brothers instead of competing against them.
20) They don’t just run the bare minimum to get them through. They properly prepare for a race.
21) They don’t have coaches who make up workouts on the spot just so sound like they understand what they’re doing and don’t lose their jobs.
22) I could go on all day …you get the point ….