There are plenty of factors which determine how fast we can run. Some are under our control and some seem like they are not. A lot of people believe that the race you were born into is the penultimate determining factor. More specifically, there is a lot of noise going around running circles that indicates that you have to be Kenyan to win.
Is this true or have we simply fallen for the stereotypically biased view of what makes a champion runner?
Is it true that we must be born at altitude to be a champion? Do we have to be brought up in a “running culture” to get a place on the podium these days? Or is it simply that the Kenyan runners simply train more effectively than the rest of the world (at the moment).
In the words of Andy Barber “If you LIVE like a Kenyan, TRAIN like a Kenyan, EAT like a Kenyan, SLEEP like a Kenyan, and REST like a Kenyan will you RUN like a Kenyan?”
What do you think? Do the Kenyans rule supreme because of who they are or because of what they do? Are they the only race that can perform this spectacularly and this consistently or have they just got us Psyched out?
2 responses so far ↓
1 Vern at Aim for Awesome // Jun 24, 2007 at 10:49 pm
For me I don’t think it’s hard to see a difference sometimes between races that can do certain things better. I know Fijians and Samoans can lift trees better than the Chinese. I just KNOW that. I don’t know why… lol.
I think the Kenyan runners are surrounded by success and maybe they share their secrets, whereas in the USA secrets to running a superior race might be taken to the grave. We’re in it for our SELF here. Maybe they have more brotherhood… more common purpose… I don’t know! They are amazing though! I’m psyched! Not psyched OUT but psyched UP to see them do what they do so well!
2 Tom O'Leary // Jul 1, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Hi Vern
As you said, sharing our running secrets has got to help us all grow faster. I understand that often groups of Kenyan runners will live together, train together and then race together. That has to be an excellent environment for speed.
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