kenyan diet

Yes, they are the diet of tigers and lions, only the fast
survive. Its an evolution thing.

Quoted message said:

Is there anything in the Kenyan diet that explains their
speed? I read 1 article on what they eat and saw no clues

I think It's genetics. Some time ago I read that all male
distance records are held by people of east or north african
extraction.

Paula Radcliffe is a (big) exception, but I'd argue cultural
differences make it harder for african females to dominate
in running.

I think the difference between the groups is small, 1-
2%, but that's what separates world record holders from
world class.

--Dan

anonymous said:

Is there anything in the Kenyan diet that explains their
speed? I read 1 article on what they eat and saw no clues

you got it wrong if you are looking for a pill man. It is
the lifestyle (plus geography) that puts them where they
are. They don't take a bus to kindergarden they walk. They
don't have plumbing they walk miles to get water. They don't
drive an SUV to the grocery store they chase their food. You
get the idea.

It does not matter what you eat. Just do the miles.

--
"I'm glad you are not fat daddy, therefore you are able to play with
me." Son of a responsible father.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there anything in the Kenyan diet that explains their
speed? I read 1 article on what they eat and saw no clues

Black people, in general, are better equipped for physical
activities. I think Kenyan's also benefit from training at
higher altitudes. There was a huge story (that created a
stir) in National Geographic about 2-3 years ago. Will try
to pull the issue.

Quoted message said:

Is there anything in the Kenyan diet that explains their
speed? I read 1 article on what they eat and saw no clues

Below is a week from the training log of Stephen Cherono
(provided by his coach, Renato Canova). Cherono ran 12:48
last year, the fastest time in the world, and this is what
he was doing a year ago right now:

================================================================

Mon 1 hr 10 min with short variations (10 x 30" fast rec. 1
min easy + 10 x 1 min fast rec. 2' easy) 50 min easy +
diagonals Tue 20 min warm - up (track) 5 couples of (1200m
+ 300m, recovery 2 min between tests), recovery 6 min among
the couples, in 3'09" (63" per lap) - 42" 30 min easy Wed 1
hr moderate 40 min easy + 10 times 100m sprint climbing Thu
1 hr moderate 30 min easy + 2 sets of 6 x 100m (track) in
13" recovery 15" between every test, and 5 min between sets
(this one is called "intermittent training", and is the
best way of training for improving the threshold before
some lactacid training) Fri 50 min moderate 50 min easy
diagonals Sat 20 min warm - up (track) 4 x 600m (rec. 2'😉
in 1'33" / 1'33" / 1'33" / 1'28" 4 x 200m (rec. 2'😉 in 28"
/ 28" / 28" / 25" 4 x 500m (rec. 2'😉 in 1'16" / 1'16" /
1'16" / 1'12" 4 x 300m (rec. 2'😉 in 45" / 45" / 45" / 41" 4
x 400m (rec. 2'😉 in 60" / 60" / 60" / 56" (Recovery among
sets : 5 / 6 min) Sun Rest
=================================================================

Last year, the US had 7 of the top 15 people at 400 (Kenya
had 1), 1 of the top 15 (David Krummenacker), and beyond 800
we were not even in the game. We haven't had a sub-3:50
miler in 15 years. BUT...in 2002, Krummenacker was #3 in the
world at 800, in 2003 he was the world indoor champion
(beating Wilson Kipketer); The Steve Scott of 1981 would
have had the fastest mile in the world last year...so it's
not that we cannot compete, we simply choose not to.

All you have to do is look at Cherono's training week, count
the number of hard speed days, and you see why we are not
even in the game anymore. Quite simply, you get what you pay
for. If you won't train at the world standard, you get to be
a spectator.

Lyndon "Speed Kills...It kills those that don't have it!"
--US Olympic Track Coach Brooks Johnson

It's not what Kenyans eat before a race, that makes
them so fast. It's the promise of food at the finish
line, if they win.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is there anything in the Kenyan diet that explains their
speed? I read 1 article on what they eat and saw no clues

milk, blood and meat. (at least the masai anyway).

reliefweb.intdedc8012f9c5bbcdc12569Open ↗
6200453e11?OpenDocument

Clifford Thacker <[email hidden]> wrote in news:pu0hc.697$zb4.67
@newssvr15.news.prodigy.com:

Quoted message said:

anonymous said:

Is there anything in the Kenyan diet that explains their
speed? I read 1 article on what they eat and saw no clues

you got it wrong if you are looking for a pill man. It is
the lifestyle

I say it's society. In Kenya they look up to these runners
like the kids here look up to a Michael Jordan. From a very
young age their dream is to become an elite runner. In the
USA we have chosen basketball players, football players and
baseball players as the athletes that will be rewarded with
outrageously huge paychecks. If you turned the tables and a
sub 2:10 marathoner could sign a 20 million dollar contract,
I guarantee that within 10 years, the USA would be as good
or better than the Kenyans.

Phil M.

--
"Pain is temporary: the success it brings can be
everlasting." -fortune cookie

Miss Anne Thrope said:

It's not what Kenyans eat before a race, that makes them
so fast. It's the promise of food at the finish line, if
they win.

basically what you're saying is it's the hunger to win which
makes them what they are.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Lyndon said:

Quoted message said:

Is there anything in the Kenyan diet that explains their
speed? I read 1 article on what they eat and saw no clues

Below is a week from the training log of Stephen Cherono
(provided by his coach, Renato Canova). Cherono ran 12:48
last year, the fastest time in the world, and this is what
he was doing a year ago right now:

================================================================

Quoted message said:

Mon 1 hr 10 min with short variations (10 x 30" fast rec. 1
min easy + 10 x 1 min fast rec. 2' easy) 50 min easy +
diagonals Tue 20 min warm - up (track) 5 couples of (1200m
+ 300m, recovery 2 min between tests), recovery 6 min among
the couples, in 3'09" (63" per lap)
- 42" 30 min easy Wed 1 hr moderate 40 min easy + 10
times 100m sprint climbing Thu 1 hr moderate 30 min
easy + 2 sets of 6 x 100m (track) in 13" recovery
15" between every test, and 5 min between sets
(this one is called "intermittent training", and is
the best way of training for improving the
threshold before some lactacid training) Fri 50 min
moderate 50 min easy diagonals Sat 20 min warm - up
(track)

[details cut -- about 20 minutes at speed, distributed from
200 to 600m.]

Quoted message said:

Sun Rest

70, 62, 100, 80, 100, 40 minutes -- 452 minutes. At an
average 6 min/mile, about 75 mpw.

I was surprised to not see twice a days.

The thing that strikes me as most interesting about the
schedule is that every running day has some high speed
work -- Tuesday and Saturday with longer things, but
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday with 100-200m at speed.

--
Robert Grumbine radix.net~bobgOpen ↗ Science faqs and
amateur activities notes and links. Sagredo (Galileo
Galilei) "You present these recondite matters with too much
evidence and ease; this great facility makes them less
appreciated than they would be had they been presented in a
more abstruse manner." Two New Sciences

Phil M. <[email hidden]> wrote: .....

Quoted message said:

I say it's society. In Kenya they look up to these runners
like the kids here look up to a Michael Jordan. From a
very young age their dream is to become an elite runner.
In the USA we have chosen basketball players, football
players and baseball players as the athletes that will be
rewarded with outrageously huge paychecks. If you turned
the tables and a sub 2:10 marathoner could sign a 20
million dollar contract, I guarantee that within 10 years,
the USA would be as good or better than the Kenyans.

phil, i don't think i agree completely.

i agree on the part about society's role. but on the money
aspect, i'm not sure it's that simple.

look at golf or tennis. those guys make millions of $$. but
how many US players do you see in the top 10? tiger woods in
golf, andy roddick, andre agassi, the williams sisters in
tennis. not many. also, a US player is more likely to make
much more money from endorsements too. so, why aren't the
rankings full of US players?

i also think that the individuality of the sport plays a
role. it's more likely that you can become an NBA/NFL
player. you don't need to be the best. you could come off
the bench and still make at least a few $100,000 a year.
whereas, in running, you have to finish in the top
3/5/etc or even win outright to be even making like
$50,000 or $90,000.

even if we go with your suggestion of doling out $20M
contracts to sub-2:10, i think they'll probably be happy
with that - being sub-2:10. it won't mean that they are
guaranteed to be world beaters.

ultimately, as lyndon pointed out in his post, i think it's
the hunger which matters - the desire to be the best.
society, money, etc., all play some role but in the end you
really have to want it in order to get it.

regards jobs

"SwStudio" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Yes, there are genetic differences between various
cultures, but to lump all dark-skinned people together
and say they are superior for "physical activities" is
as ludicrous as saying all white people are superior at
XC skiing.

Apparently it is so that the genetic variation within the so
called dark-skinned people is greater than the variation
within the rest of the human rest altogether.

This naturally means that when certain genetic differences
can give an advantage in a certain sport, there are bound
to be some dark-skinned people who will possess them, and
there will probably be fewer other-skinned people with such
a set of genes.

(This is, of course, assuming natural selection hasn´t
strongly disfavoured just those differences in Africa.;

Quoted message said:

Here's an example - West Africans are obviously very good
at running. There are clearly genetic and cultural reasons
behind this, but it's not simply because they are black.
How many good East African runners are there? They are
black, too.

Nigeria produces world-class sprinters, whereas Kenya and
Ethiopia produce distance runners; that´s probably due to
one aspect of genetic variation, among other things..

Another aspect is that there are Tansanians who have less
natural talent for running than I do:-)

Anders

[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Miss Anne Thrope said:

It's not what Kenyans eat before a race, that makes them
so fast. It's the promise of food at the finish line, if
they win.

basically what you're saying is it's the hunger to win
which makes them what they are.

No, I think she said the skinny little [censored] don't get
enough to eat in their jungle, so when offered a free orange
at the end of a marathon, they move!

Phil M. said:

I say it's society. In Kenya they look up to these runners
like the kids here look up to a Michael Jordan. From a
very young age their dream is to become an elite runner.
In the USA we have chosen basketball players, football
players and baseball players as the athletes that will be
rewarded with outrageously huge paychecks. If you turned
the tables and a sub 2:10 marathoner could sign a 20
million dollar contract, I guarantee that within 10 years,
the USA would be as good or better than the Kenyans.

Phil, I have no proof i.e. pure instinct and I agree, we
would be more competitive, but feel their physical
attributes will always keep them as a family of runners,
way ahead.

I'd like to think what you said is true but my gut suggests
different. They eat all those evil carbs yet lack the
obesity issue we have in North America. I'm assuming that
Europe hasn't achieved the same degree of corpulence and
slothiness as us in the USA. 😉

If we eliminated all the fast food [censored] holes, limited TV's
and computers to one hour a day, let the kids walk to
school(assuming a safe walk), add real exercise to school
programs and maybe some nutrition knowledge, we might turn
the obesity and type II diabetes away. Sorry, I dozed off
and and had a fantasy.

--
Doug Freese "Caveat Lector" [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Yes, there are genetic differences between various
cultures, but to lump all dark-skinned people together
and say they are superior for "physical activities" is
as ludicrous as saying all white people are superior at
XC skiing.

Africans have the widest genetic variation because they've
lived there so long. So you'll see the tallest and shortest,
the fastest and those most susecptible to obesity disease.

"Phil M." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Clifford Thacker <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:pu0hc.697$zb4.67 @newssvr15.news.prodigy.com:

Quoted message said:

anonymous said:

Is there anything in the Kenyan diet that explains
their speed? I read 1 article on what they eat and saw
no clues

you got it wrong if you are looking for a pill man. It
is the lifestyle

I say it's society. In Kenya they look up to these runners
like the kids here look up to a Michael Jordan. From a
very young age their dream is to become an elite runner.
In the USA we have chosen basketball players, football
players and baseball players as the athletes that will be

rewarded

Quoted message said:

with outrageously huge paychecks. If you turned the tables
and a sub 2:10 marathoner could sign a 20 million dollar
contract, I guarantee that

within

Quoted message said:

10 years, the USA would be as good or better than the
Kenyans.

Another point to make about the Kenyan society is that it is
much more "laid back" than our society. In Kenya an 11am
meeting may start at 1pm. One of the results of our faster-
paced society is that running is considered boring. In the
US, basketball's faster pace is more interesting to most
people. And the truly American sport of football (the one
played largely without the feet) is a reflection of our
business habits: a meeting followed by short burst of action
followed by another meeting.

To answer the OP's question, the Kenyan diet is largely a
maize porridge called ugali and a spinach like vegetable
called sakuma weki. As others have mentioned, the diet is
not the primary factor in Kenyan running success, but
Running Times did do a feature on the diet:
runningtimes.comkenyan.htmOpen ↗

Matthew

Doug Freese <[email hidden]> wrote: ....

Quoted message said:

If we eliminated all the fast food [censored] holes, limited
TV's and computers to one hour a day, let the kids walk to
school(assuming a safe walk), add real exercise to school
programs and maybe some nutrition knowledge, we might turn
the obesity and type II diabetes away. Sorry, I dozed off
and and had a fantasy.

a fantasy, hopefully on its way to reality. mcdonalds and
the other fast food chains seem to be jumping on to the
health food train. heck, i've even seen "atkins friendly
tacos." that's healthy, right? ;-)

this week is "national tv turnoff week." check out
www.tvturnoff.org.

now, having a computer turnoff week might be a bit tough.

but, i guess things are improving, albeit slowly.

jobs

"\"El Paisano\"" <[email hidden]> wrote: .....

Quoted message said:

Running Times did do a feature on the diet:
runningtimes.comkenyan.htmOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Matthew

thanks for the link. i have never been able to find one.

jobs

[email hidden] wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Phil M. <[email hidden]> wrote: .....

Quoted message said:

I say it's society. In Kenya they look up to these
runners like the kids here look up to a Michael Jordan.
From a very young age their dream is to become an elite
runner. In the USA we have chosen basketball players,
football players and baseball players as the athletes
that will be rewarded with outrageously huge paychecks.
If you turned the tables and a sub 2:10 marathoner could
sign a 20 million dollar contract, I guarantee that
within 10 years, the USA would be as good or better than
the Kenyans.

phil, i don't think i agree completely.

i agree on the part about society's role. but on the money
aspect, i'm not sure it's that simple.

look at golf or tennis. those guys make millions of $$.
but how many US players do you see in the top 10? tiger
woods in golf, andy roddick, andre agassi, the williams
sisters in tennis. not many. also, a US player is more
likely to make much more money from endorsements too. so,
why aren't the rankings full of US players?

i also think that the individuality of the sport plays a
role. it's more likely that you can become an NBA/NFL
player. you don't need to be the best. you could come off
the bench and still make at least a few $100,000 a year.
whereas, in running, you have to finish in the top 3/5/etc
or even win outright to be even making like $50,000 or
$90,000.

even if we go with your suggestion of doling out $20M
contracts to sub-2:10, i think they'll probably be happy
with that - being sub-2:10. it won't mean that they are
guaranteed to be world beaters.

ultimately, as lyndon pointed out in his post, i think
it's the hunger which matters - the desire to be the best.
society, money, etc., all play some role but in the end
you really have to want it in order to get it.

That's also true. But I think that we are losing a lot of
potential world class marathoners and track athletes to
other sports. Not enough kids growing up really want it.
It's all in the numbers. You have to have a large talent
pool in order to have the chance of putting together the
kind of individual that has that rare talent/desire
combination.

Phil M.