I have trained with
Bernard Kisilu (1.44)
Michael Rotich (1.44)
Kenneth Kimwetich (1min43.03)
jogged with in Bushy park
Bob Kennedy
Noah Ngeny
Sammy Kipketer
Stephen Cherono
when we were running, Bob told me how 1 week before a steeples race he was running with Moses Kiptanui, except after 500m at 7 minute mile pace, Moses turned to Bob, and said "Bob, you go on, I feel tired, Im going home to sleep". One week later he broke the steeples WR.
The Kenyans I have run with dont have HR monitors, and when they do track intervals, they dont even KNOW what splits they run, because A) They concerntrate on running, not hanging out for split times B) their grasp of english is not so great and they on occasions struggle to understand even simple spoken numbers. Thats why I watched a group of them start a training session, with a mile in 3min56 because RS told themn to do it "quite hard"
You are right, they dont all live in huts, but the staple of their diet is still Ugali, except sometimes they chuck in chicken and carrots.
As for my PRs - that doesnt really matter. But Im sure that if you can put 2 and 2 together, you might realise that if I am doing sessions with guys like Bernard and Michael, and jogging with Noah, Bob and Sammy, then I might just know what I am talking about. The best advancement I ever made in my training was to listen to what the Kenyans told me, and "dont think... just run"
furthermore, I didnt post this (my original) to criticise anyone, or puff my chest out and challenge them on "their PR's" I just gave my advice to a dude who asked for some. What he chooses to do with that is totally up to him.