Peruvian runners - the new rivals to Kenya/Ethiopia and Japan

waxonist wrote:

peruvian wrote:

Guessing most will be from Lima. I don't live there anymore but that is where I was born.

You are guessing wrong. The best distance runners from Peru will come from the highlands. Ines Melchor is from Huancavelica, Gladys Tejeda and Raul Pacheco are from Junin, and even one of Peru's old (and lost) glories Yessica Quispe, is from Cuzco. All of these cities are well above 10000 feet.

He means most of the Peruvian letsrun posters.

Ines Melchor comes from a minority of non indigenous people in Huancavelica - in other words - from the Mestizo people (Spanish dominant blood). Situated at 3,600m above sea level, Melchor, and other athletes from the region, always had the altitude advantage from birth.

Huancavelica, is one of the poorer cities in Peru, in part because the majority of indigenous people there, have always battled to get to the top in the economic ranks in Peru, up till now. The leaders in Peru, are overwhelmingly mestizos, and white in appearance, not indigenous.

With the example and emulation of Morales - the Bolivian head of State, there is something to be learned there, even though in Bolivia, the Santa Cruz area of Bolivia (largely mestizo/spanish blood - wanted to separate from the highland area), but forgive the digression.

Back to Melchor - had she had the training facilities of something like Salazar's project - she might have been even better than her 15:30/31:56/2:26.

Peru - the new Kenya and Ethiopia - the jury is still out..

Ghost in China

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darwinist wrote:

Scientists have bred mice for only 39 generations to produce 3 times faster specimens than in the first generation. One human generation is usually set to 25 years. 1000 years in one place should be more than enough to breed some slightly faster runners than elsewhere. We're just talking about a few percent faster for a few individuals.

Depends on the variations but also more importantly whether they are favored in evolution. Humans live in societies where some selective pressures may be undone by help from others or very different criteria for passing on genes.

This article is interesting, comparing high altitude peoples in Ethiopia, Tibet, and the Andean altiplano. Their adaptations to altitude are all different. The Ethiopians are not hypoxic at altitude, yet the researchers couldn't find the mechanisms by which they handle it! The Andeans carry more oxygen in their blood with more hemoglobin, without breathing more often. The Tibetans have several adaptations, breathing more often (respiratory) and expanding their blood vessels by using more nitric oxide from the air. The Tibetans, they think, settled that plateau 20-25,000 years ago and the Andeans 11-11,500 years ago, and they don't say when the Ethiopians settled their land.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0224_040225_evolution.html

Hi Ghost1,

I'm also a runner over here in China. Wondering where you're located. Can you drop me a note at

walbers23@yahoo.com

? thanks

Interesting about Peruvian runners. I cant seem to find opportunity to coach in iowa. Maybe I should take my genetic inclinations to coach to Peru. Im looking for runners eager to learn.

You need more of a plateau at altitude. The altitude of S. America, Japan, Himalayas and NZ is really mostly just steep peaks. Kenyan is undulating.