No Kenyans have tea before running.
No Kenyans have tea before running.
pascal Fortin wrote:
Re-Hi Ghost1 !
Btw, could you tell me where did you find the typical day you've posted and who are the athletes following it ?
Thanks for your answer !
Pascal Fortin, St Pierre, La Reunion,
Mes détails remontent à Iten et Eldoret en 2009, au Kenya.
J'ai observé, discuté et vu une bande de coureurs dans la zone, moins de 2.10 au marathon. C'est un chrono elite en France, mais moyen au Kenya !
A Iten et Eldoret, il y a des centaines de coureurs qui peuvent courir en dessous de 2.10, mais la plupart n'ont pas d'agents, donc ils n'ont pas la chance de montrer leurs prouesses.
Ghost
The peak time can be calculated using the sunrise equation:
https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/5778e247e391ddc6732d4e8df52f08d4aaa4502d
Re. the above.
I observed hundreds of runners in Iten and Eldoret, most of them capable of running well under 2.09, but the problem is lack of nutrients of quality, lack of money, and no agent to enter them in a Euro race, where they might make a name for themselves.
The depth and talent is limitless and continuous, but the chances to break through are limited, because not enough agents.
Pascal, as a French national, France would be a dream destination for a Kenyan runner who has no agent or money. The terrain is a minefield though, because some agents, unethical prerogatives to the fore, race their new runners excessively leading to injury and
delayed development.
Full name: Kenneth Keter
Racing name: Kenneth Keter
Nationality: Kenya
Date of birth: 04 August 1996
Born in: Kaplolo, Elgeiyo county, Kenya (altitude 2,400m above sea level)
Resident of: Iten, Kenya (altitude 2,400m above sea level) – since 2015
Personal best (selection):
10K: 27:50, Prague (CZE), 2016
Half marathon: 59:48, Venlo (NED), 2016
Specializes in: Road races, aimimg marathon debut in 2018
First international race: Birell Prague Grand Prix 10 km, Prague (CZE), 2015
adidas athlete since: 2015
This guy runs for the runCzech team, and according to the website profile only runs once a day for a total of 120-130km per week.
Nicodemus Kimutai
Full name: Nicodemus Kipkurui Kimutai
Racing name: Nicodemus Kimutai
Nationality: Kenya
Date of birth: 4 April 1994
Born in: Iten, Kenya (2,400 m above sea level)
Resident of: Iten, Kenya (2,400 m above sea level)
Personal best (selection):
10K: 28:27, Oelde (GER), 2015
Half Marathon: 1:01:56, Sasumua (KEN), 2016
Specializes in: Road races
First international race: Klap Tot Klap Loop Stadskanaal 10K, Stadskanaal (NLD), 2015
adidas athlete since: 2017
2017 RESULTS (SELECTION)
Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon, Prague (CZE) — 15th, 1:03:13
2016 RESULTS (SELECTION)
Sasumua Half Marathon. Sasumua (KEN) — 1st, 1:01:56 PB
Branssum 10K, Bransum (NLD) — 3rd, 28:46
BEYOND THE STATS
#NikodemusKimutai #RunCzechRacing
Married
Lives with wife, Scolah Jemutai
Coached by Dan Ngetich
Trains in a group of 15 athletes
Ran to school 4 km each way, for period of 8 years
Has 8 brothers and 1 sister
His brother, Elias, is a 1500 m runner
Enjoys watching movies, playing football
Professional goals: to break the world record in half marathon
Dream: to become a famous athlete
Favorite training type: speed work 15 times 600 m
Trains on dirt-roads and tarmac
Strength training: does regularly
Mileage per week per training phase: 200 km
Longest long run: 40 km
Number of training sessions in a typical week: 11 sessions
Favorite foods: ugali, milk
Would like to invest his money in building rental houses, and support his family and his village
Favorite sports: football. Fan of Chelsea. Favorite player Lampard
Favorite athletes: Geoffrey Mutai, Wilson Kipsang
Enjoyed Hospitality of RunCzech team and Prague buildings
TYPICAL DAY
5:30 wakes up, does stretching
6:00 training
8:00 nap
10:00 takes shower
10:30 breakfast
11:00 watching movie
12:00 lunch
13:00 relaxation, nap
16:00 second training (about 15-20 km jogging)
18:00 takes shower, prepare supper
19:00 supper
20:00 retires for the night
The Kenyans based in Europe train at most twice a day, but many times just 9-10 sessions per week, with the obligatory Sunday off, a typical Kenyan habit among runners.
Another observation, in Kenya, elite runners will usually skip training if it is raining - they don't stress about it.
During the rainy season in Eldoret, many runners see their weight increase by 5-6kg or more.
Also, after the racing season, around October, many runners will take one month off.
So, runners in Kenya operate much like boxers and cyclists, with on and off times in the year, and substantial weight differences.
Abraham Kipyatich
Full name: Anraham Kapsis Kipyatich
Racing name: Abraham Kipyatich
Nationality: Kenya
Date of birth: 10 May 1993
Born in: Marakwet (altitude 2,400m above sea level)
Resident of: Iten, Kenya (altitude 2,400m above sea level) – since 2012
Personal best (selection):
10K: 27:40, Prague (CZE), 2016
Half marathon: 1:00:03, Berlin (GER), 2015
Specializes in (as of 2017): Road races
First international race in: Course de l’Escalade 7,25 km, Genève (SUI), 2013
adidas athlete since: 2016
2017 RESULTS (SELECTION)
Marugame half marathon, Marugame (JPN) — 4th, 1:01:00
Hapalua Half Marathon, Honolulu (USA) — 3rd (as a pacemaker), 1:05:28
2016 RESULTS (SELECTION)
B.A.A. Half Marathon, Boston (USA) — 2nd, 1:03:22
Mattoni Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon, Ústí nad Labem (CZE) — 3rd, 1:01:40
Birell Prague Grand Prix, 10k, Prague (CZE) — 1st, 27:40 PB
Le Puy-en-Velay 15k, Le Puy-en-Velay (FRA) — 2nd, 43:20 PB
Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon, Prague (CZE) — 7nt, 1:00:16
2015 RESULTS (SELECTION)
Le Puy-en-Velay 15K, Le Puy-en-Velay (FRA) — 2nd, 44:00
Berlin Half marathon, Berlin (GER) — 5th, 1:00:03 PB
BEYOND THE STATS
#AbrahamKipyatich #RunCzechRacing
Renting house, lives with wife Marcy
Self-coached
Training in a group of about 20 athletes with Willy Kibor (Marathon PB 2:08:32) and Luka Kanda (Marathon PB 2:07:20)
Ran to school 5 km each way, for period of 10 years
Has 4 brothers and 3 sisters
First established athlete in the family
Enjoys watching movies. Favorite movie is “Machachari” (Kenya)
Professional goals: to improve results
Dream: to assist family and friends and make their life easier and happier
Favorite training type: speed work 6 times 400m plus 4 times 600m
Trains on dirt-roads only
Strength training: doesn’t do any strength training, only stretching
Mileage per week per training phase: 140 km
Longest Long Run: 36 km
Number of training sessions in a typical week: 8 sessions
Favorite foods: ugali
Would like to invest his earnings in real estate
Favorite sports: athletics only
Favorite athletes: Wilson Kipsang (former world record holder in marathon, PB 2:03:13), Kenenisa Bekele (World record holder in 10000 m, PB 26:17.53), Haile Gebrseilassie (former world record holder in marathon, PB 2:03:13)
Enjoyed hospitality of RunCzech team during his visits in the Czech Republic
TYPICAL DAY
5:40 wakes up, doesn’t take any food or water before training
6:00 training
9:00 shower and breakfast, tea with milk and chapatti (flat bread)
10:00 massage (twice a week)
11:00 nap
12:00 lunch
13:00 relaxation
15:00 second training
16:00 watching movies, socializing with friends
20:00 supper
21:00 retires for the night
Some Kenyans do not count all their sessions, overall.
Abraham Kipyatich, a 27.40/60.03 runner from Marakwet, 2400m, like Iten, claims 8 sessions a week, but does not count his morning run, at a steady pace.
One thing though, is certain -Kenyans are goid at resting and putting their feet up, when not training or racing.
When I hosted Kenyan runners at the Nice marathon, and half marathon, years ago, they were not interested in walking around town. It is basically, airport, hotel, race, hotel, airport. Bye bye. Of course, not forgetting the cheque for services rendered.
So they know instinctively that playing the culture vulture role, and being a top athlete are not compatible.
Because why the f*ck not?
I was in Iten and I have kenyan friends (runners). And I'm going again this August .
The workouts or the fartleks are done at mid-morning AFTER breakfast.
The first run, at 6:00 am is ran without breakfast.
Jorge Pereyra from Uruguay.
White bread is cake wrote:
Ghost1 wrote:
, bread, around 2-4 slices of white processed, with jam, no butter. 2-3 cups of tea with milk and plenty of sugar.
Tea, several cups, milk and sugar. Some 2.07-2.09 runners also drink coke, and at night beer! Almost no sweet food, cakes or junk food.
evening meal, similar to lunch. Once a week, some of these guys will have a fast food meal with hamburgers and french fries in Iten or Eldoret.
.
Almost no sweet food or junk food?
They are basically living on sugar and junk food with all that white processed bread and jam and sweet tea.
Wait!
There are hamburgers in Iten and Eldoret?
That's a new one.
There is no getting away from facts, look at the posts in these thread and on athlete's profiles on Internet (especially Adidas one) and you'll see the fact is many kenyan athletes (perhaps, even the majoirty of them) dont eat before workout...
Pascal,
It is very unusual for Kenyans to do a hard workout without having eaten a light breakfast.
Yes, they do their morning progressive run at 6am, before any food, but I have never witnessed Kenyan elites do their main session, around 10am, without having had a light breakfast some two hours before the main workout of the day, either intervals or a tough fartlek session.
Those Kenyans profiled on the runczech team may have mis-communicated their running habits with regard to doing quality workouts without food.
Physiologically it would be counter productive to doing a quality workout without some recent nutrients. If wring on this, I stand corrected.
Ghost1 wrote:
pascal Fortin wrote:
Hy guys,
First of all, i'd like to apologise about my english but it's not my mother tongue.
Secondly, I'd like to know if someone amongst you could explain me why most kenyan athletes in Iten (Kenya) seem to do high speed before breakfast in the morning and recovery session in the afternoon ? Is there a physiological reason or other explanation(s) ?
Thanks for your answer !
Best regards,
Pascal FORTIN (Reunion Island - France)
Salut Pascal,
Actually the Kenyans don't do high speed before breakfast. They do high speed after breakfast, but before lunch at around 10am.
Here is a typical day, for a Kenyan 2.07-2.09 marathon runner, based on my surveys in Iten and Eldoret, including stays at the Lorna Kiplagat training center in Iten.
5.30am -5.45am, rise
5.55am - cup of tea with milk and 2-4 spoons of sugar.
6.15am -7.15am - one hour progressive speed run, starting very slow at around 6-7 mins for the first km, and then getting faster, usually finishing the last half hour at around 3.10-3.20 per km speed.
7.45am 8.15am (after some stretching and exercises for about 15 mins. ) Breakfast, bread, around 2-4 slices of white processed, with jam, no butter. 2-3 cups of tea with milk and plenty of sugar.
10am -11.30 am - main session of the day. Example, slow 20 mins jog to the track. Strides.
Session. 10 times 1000, starting out in 3.05, and working down to 2.50 or faster, jog about 1.30 between each interval. 20 mins cool down.
12 noon, lunch, ugali, vegetables. Some meat, most days. Tea, several cups, milk and sugar. Some 2.07-2.09 runners also drink coke, and at night beer! Almost no sweet food, cakes or junk food.
13.00-14.00 - sleep/siesta, or watch videos. Most of the runners look at their smartphones, and very active on social media.
16.00-17.00 - 45 mins slow jog, usually starting out around 6 mins per km, working down to 4.20-4.00. This is a regenerative run.
Some afternoons, gym session, working on core and light weights.
18.00-19.00 - evening meal, similar to lunch. Once a week, some of these guys will have a fast food meal with hamburgers and french fries in Iten or Eldoret.
21.00-22.00, lights out for most guys, after chatting with friends, and surfing their smartphone media accounts.
Sounds like these guys have life so easy.
One other thing about the fast morning sessions: I suspect many/most of these guys are from a farming background and used to early hours with lots of labor. And of course, if they ran to school as kids, the morning session might be very quick if they might be late to class; going home nice and leisurely (?).
Pascal
Avez-vous une adresse e-mail où je peux vous joindre?
Je voudrais vous aider dans votre projet de recherche.
Je voudrais également inviter des coureurs kenyans à s'entraîner à La Réunion, et inspirer les coureurs là-bas, tout comme Jean Louis Prianon l'avait fait en 1988, avec sa 4ème place à Séoul et 27.34 10.000 records.
Bonjour Ghost 1,
Très sympathique de votre part.
Je dois vous préciser que je suis aussi allé à Iten, pour un stage de 10 jours, en janvier dernier. A cette occasion, j'ai visité par mal de camps d'entraînement, rencontré de nombreux athlètes et surtout discuté avec l'un de leur coach, qui gère la carrière d'une soixantaine de coureurs pro, pour une marque réputée de chaussures. C'est d'ailleurs lui qui m'a briefé sur la semaine type d'entraînement de ses coureurs. A l'occasion de la venue de deux d'entre eux pour participer à notre invitation au dernier 10km de Saint-Denis de La Réunion, ils m'ont d'ailleurs indiqué le même type de semaine que celle mentionné par ce coach sans que je leur précise que j'avais déjà eu l'occasion d'en discuter avec ce dernier au préalable. Pour conclure, lors de notre stage, j'ai eu l'occasion d'assister à l'une des 2 séances de piste du matin, sur le stade de Tambach, celui de Kamariny étant fermé pour travaux. Et je vous confirme que celle-ci a bien eu lieu, comme d'habitude pour ses athlètes, aux premières heures de la matinée, avant le fameux "breakfast" ! En revanche, j'ai tendance à penser que, à défaut de manger quoi que ce soit, ils doivent au moins boire un thé sucré avant leur séance ou de l'eau mélangé avec du glucose (l'un des 2 athlètes avait en effet ramené une boîte de glucose à La Réunion pour sa consommation personnelle...). D'où ma question sur l'intérêt physiologique (ou autre) d'effectuer des séances qualitatives avant le petit déjeuner....
Pour ce qui est de mon adresse mail, je ne souhaite pas la diffuser sur ce type de forum pour des raisons bien évidentes. En revanche, depuis notre passage à Iten, j'ai ouvert une page facebook à mon nom dédiée aux coureurs kényans (ss-titre : Kenya running world). N'hésite-pas à y jeter un oeil et à commenter. C'est public. Et à t'inscrire le cas échéant. Et on pourra dès lors communiquer via messenger.
Sportivement !
Hfdfhb wrote:
Elites do two sessions a day. They would be more fresh after a good night sleep than after a day which consisted of a morning easy run
Then why are all World-Class track races held at night?
Runners are at their peak bio-rhythms in the evening.
So why do most Kenyan athletes get 7-8.5 hours of sleep instead of 9-10 like most American pro athletes? I thought they'd be sleeping more.
