They also have the unfair advantage of having lions, hyenas, rhinos, etc. to run from. It's life or death for them, poverty or not.
They also have the unfair advantage of having lions, hyenas, rhinos, etc. to run from. It's life or death for them, poverty or not.
Can’t say Texas has much altitude, but hundreds of challenging dirt roads here for sure. Never mind it being August, super hot in the afternoons and humid basically all the time.
Texas for some reasons... wrote:
Can’t say Texas has much altitude, but hundreds of challenging dirt roads here for sure. Never mind it being August, super hot in the afternoons and humid basically all the time.
Where in Texas has dirt roads like that?
tbushnell wrote:
There are hundreds of miles of roads like this next to Oregon State University and they can't even justify a men's xc/track program. Portland has very similar options a few miles from downtown. You should visit the west.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiZp7Xl6ZLdAhXBjlQKHSomD4kQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.co.uk%2Fpin%2F25755029092718256%2F&psig=AOvVaw3eA_zZTszUMgzWOvDPQRhu&ust=1535651276981746
Where in Portland?
Moving there soon.
There could also be additional factors providing huge incentives such as very few, if any, opportunities to have a life if you don't "make it" in running. In the US our runners are, for the most part, college educated and have options to support themselves outside of running (minus the glory). It's amazing how deep someone can dig when the only way out of poverty is to pursue something that promises to lift them up.[/quote]
this ^ but it goes beyond that
i would take a stab and say 95% of the top distance runners we have had since the mid 90s come from RICH families (american born mind you)
adam goucher : rich Jew
bob kennedy? prob rich
torres brothers : parents where jewellers in chicago, RICH
ritz ; more than likely rich
hall : more than likely rich
webb : more than likely rich
brojos : we all know they are old world rich (yeah yeah yeah they werent that good)
meb and abdi lomong came from poverty then moved to the US...
so as you can see in the US distance running is a niche for the rich nerds. they come from expensive private schools, could have gone to any D1 they wanted because of their school and top grades. how many of these kenyans come from the top of middle class worth of money? no i think the rich kenyans are like elK, overweight, soft, expensive educations, arrogant know it alls that dont do any sports.
our poor poverty kids in the US dont do sports, they work sh*t jobs and blaze meth, instead of seeing dollar signs from running distance they see EBT cards, and government housing. sh*t even in basketball now you rarely see a rags to riches story of black kids....nope now they all come from middle class families, TOP private schools with basketball notoriety, and camps year round. yes i know lebron was poor, but he didnt go to some sh*t high school either, someone payed for that.
bottom line is there is financial incentive, and this is also why the doping is so prevalent...you see your neighbor put in the miles and then win some races and now he is rich....you try, but your years behind, you get on the sauce and you start making money...you join a "firm" and now you get the good sauce and docs to keep you healthy and pissing clean...you have made it, your a cash cow for greedy old pasty f*cks, but its ok, they dont take all your money...you buy a car, you go to clubs, you have affairs.....[/quote]
You ok bro? We can talk about your broken dreams and make it all better.
Who is the scrub bringing up the rear? Some loser that can’t even break 2:09 in the marathon?
There are plenty of dirt roads like that in the US. Just stay between the eastern edge of the Rockies and the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevadas and there are millions of miles of hilly dirt road.
Seems like a lame way to visit a national park. Here in 'Murica, we sit our fat asses on the back of a diesel truck and get pulled around, not a single excess calorie expended
https://www.extranomical.com/sites/default/files/images/content/images/2(8).png
Why is a dirt road better than a dirt trail? There are dirt trails pretty much anywhere you go outside of major cities?
In my area they very accessible from, and even in the city,
There are about 1.4 million miles of unpaved roads in the US which is more than 1/3 of the total amount of roads in the country. 512,000 of those unpaved roads are on tribal lands.
Kenya has only 12% of their roads paved.
Kvothe wrote:
http://www.letsrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/d856b72f-193c-4615-ae53-c82cbcf0cd3b.jpgthis looks like an amazing place to train. I know my metro area of well over a million people has nothing like that. In most of the US, a road like that would have been paved (even if only a handful of cars a day drive it) for the sake of lining a contractor's pockets.
that and our pros are too busy trying to be instaHoes, while pros in kenya start potato farms!
Swag Surfer wrote:
They also have the unfair advantage of having lions, hyenas, rhinos, etc. to run from. It's life or death for them, poverty or not.
If you run from those wild animals, they will chase you, they will catch you and they will eat you.
It is safer to stand your ground against a big cat. I have experienced that in Colorado with a mountain lion during an early morning trail run. In the US we also have bears, which I have encountered on trail runs in New Jersey, Texas and Montana.
https://www.realworldsurvivor.com/2015/10/12/survive-a-wild-cat-encounter/#killercatCiro wrote:
Texas for some reasons... wrote:
Can’t say Texas has much altitude, but hundreds of challenging dirt roads here for sure. Never mind it being August, super hot in the afternoons and humid basically all the time.
Where in Texas has dirt roads like that?
Hill country has some good dirt road with challenging hills. From Washington County, which is east of Austin, out to west of San Antonio around the Frio River, there are lots of dirt roads out near the ranches. The only problem is that the locals like to rip around on their diesel duallies and do not look out for runners.
The picture in the OP looks more like the terrain out in Iten and Eldoret. The national park next to Nairobi is more of a savanna and does not have much in the way of hills. Due to the way Kenyans farm (lots of small family farms on small tracts of land), there are lots of dirt roads crisscrossing the countryside in and around Iten and Eldoret. The terrains is rolling most of the way. Add to that about 8,000 ft of altitude and equatorial weather of highs in the 70s and lows in 50s all year and you really have one of the most ideal training grounds in the world (as long as you are vaccinated for malaria).
Ciro wrote:
Where in Portland?
Moving there soon.
Forest Park. If you want a gravel rd, Leif Erikson Dr runs 11 mi through the park and is only open to non-motorized. Then there is the 30 mi Wildwood trail loop which is very hilly. Enjoy
Slowpoke wannabe wrote:
Who is the scrub bringing up the rear? Some loser that can’t even break 2:09 in the marathon?
He's gonna be late for school.
Didn't read the article, just presumed it was a picture of average Kenyan 12 year olds on their morning 10 mile run to school.
They have the luxury of not having every road covered by asphalt or cement.
I would have to drive a long time or fly to run a dirt road.
Too expensive to fly to Colorado for morning runs.
cappy wrote:
Too expensive to fly to Colorado for morning runs.
You can always move, free will and all that.
I can run 100+ miles out my door without crossing pavement.
Kvothe wrote:
http://www.letsrun.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/d856b72f-193c-4615-ae53-c82cbcf0cd3b.jpgthis looks like an amazing place to train. I know my metro area of well over a million people has nothing like that. In most of the US, a road like that would have been paved (even if only a handful of cars a day drive it) for the sake of lining a contractor's pockets.
No, it doesn't "perfectly illustrate" this. Not even close. It's simply a steep dirt road.
As already pointed out, plenty of steep dirt hills in the U.S.
AND, plenty of PAVED steep hills in the U.S., since I'm not aware of any research that suggests improved training effects from running on dirt roads (...as extra romantic, and in this case, exotic, it might be) !!
Geez.
Slowpoke wannabe wrote:
Who is the scrub bringing up the rear? Some loser that can’t even break 2:09 in the marathon?
Funny.