My humble opinion on Kenyan doping bursts:
1. There are statistically more Kenyan and Kenyan born endurance runners than any other nation, even more than Ethiopia so may be Kenya is not necessarily doping more than other nations.
2. These runners are mostly from the same area in central/western kenya who are naturally gifted but also because of how many miles they generally had to run to and from school every day from a young age (7 to 10 miles on average, but can be way more sometimes) each way, they are generally quite adapted to distance running from an early age. You wouldn't believe what the punishment for late coming to school is in some of these countries (serious corporal punishment or spending the day digging on the school farm). And the punishment for arriving home late for domestic chores (fetching water, collecting firewood, tending to animals etc ) is also quite severe.
3. It will be interesting to see what happens to east African runners in the years to come since more and more kids are being dropped off to school by parents or picked by school buses (in urban areas. In rural areas kids still have to run to and from school. But may be the distances are getting shorter as more schools are built).
3. My point is Kenyans would still do well without doping.
4. I believe a typical athlete whether Kenyan or even European or American couldn't pick out pain medication from a pharmacy even if they tried. They simply have no medical or pharmaceutical training. And this is my problem with the anti doping regime in place around the world. These athletes are not procuring and self administering these drugs. They would not know which drug to purchase and the doses to take. The anti doping efforts should focus on the athlete's team as well. The trainers, doctors, nutritionists, managers etc. This way if an athlete fails a test his entire team should be banned as well. What happens now is that an athlete who didn't pick out or administer the drug to himself gets banned while his team moves on to another athlete.
5. And by the way most of these athletes are no longer trained by locals but by international groups. These people have as much to gain from drug induced improved performance of an athlete as the athlete himself. Some groups actually take way more of the athletes winnings than the athlete themselves. Which is probably not unexpected because they invest site a lot in an athlete before he or she starts to win any prize money. Training, travel and accommodation, medical expenses and other costs of developing an international class athlete can be quite significant.
6. In conclusion, I am arguing that these athletes are sometimes victims rather than perpetrators. A minority view perhaps but one that should not be dismissed entirely.