Breakfast In Bed wrote:
if anything, Americans train way too much and way too hard, and the subtle burnout factor is probably a factor in why they underachieve once on the world stage. Elites in other countries don't train this hard this much. They do a lot more easy training on non-workout days. They don't try to pile on killer workouts. They do enough each day to get the needed stimulus and move on. They diversify their training. Americans still don't get it on the elite level let alone below that, and they're always going to underachieve as a result.
Yeah I think we would be amazed at how easy East Africans run. Especially at the beginning of runs and during warmups and cooldowns. Train don’t strain right. But the reality this is that they have more genetic talent, high altitude, natural diets, dirt roads, and a greater fire to succeed at pro running. Overall they can just pump out a greater volume of great distance runners.
Kids in America have fast food, fat football, motorized scooters, diesel truck paved race tracks for roads, and many many many other opportunities to be successful in much much much more popular American sports.
For an East African running is their way out of poverty. However for Americans running is a way into poverty.
There are rare exceptions like Rupp. But we all know how shady that deal has been.