Discussion: Training secrets of Kenyan Runners

"An astonishing 239 Kenyans broke two hours and fifteen minutes last year in the marathon. (By contrast, Canada had three under the same time – and that was a good year for us.) " - Reid Coolsaet

Last autumn Reid Coolsaet from Hamilton, who runs for Guelph based Speed River, ran the fastest marathon by a Canadian on Canadian soil and met the London 2012 qualifying time. He also gives back to the running community by sharing his running experiences (he found the time to chat with our Adventure Running Kids in Hamilton a few days before the XC nationals). Last week he wrote this article in the Globe and Mail sharing his experiences with his recent visit to Kenya.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/fitness...

see also here:

http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/article/502113--...

Thanks for posting - really interesting.

I have a read a couple of interviews with him in the past. He seems a really switched on guy.

He had excellent older teammates on his high school cross-country team to show him the way. I, however, eventually lost my ranking as fastest redhead on the team.

One of the most interesting things about Reider is that he was about 67 place in the first provincial champs he went to and has just built himself up through hard work.

Has also broken the 4 Minute Mile on a skateboard.

Is that a good time on skateboard?

Reid at the time said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done.

Nev, last autumn when Reid was talking to our Adventure Running Kids he mentioned in grade 9 he wasn't fast enough to make our Westdale High School XC team! He ran a 62.42 half marathon today in NYC.

Kenyan are good example. For those who do not live in Kenya, I think as well that the Lydiard system is closed to Kenyan training and easy to plan.
For those who are still young, here is young schedule Kenyan plan example
http://www.mariusbakken.com/training-corner/kenyan...

Keep in mind that one of the reasons Lydiard-type training works so well in developing nations is because the children there typically have a big base simply because running is their primary means of transportation. Hit a developed-world teenager with that kind of mileage and they'll break quickly. I'm a big advocate of high-mileage training, but only after a sufficient base has been established. What constitutes a sufficient base is the subject of some debate; I'd put it at 10 hours per week for five years, followed by 15 hours a week for another 5, but others who know more than me would say that's conversvative. I use those numbers simply because that's what I did between ages 8 and 18 and I've never had problems with overuse injuries. YMMV.

Probably old news - I stumbled across a TV documentary the other week that compared Kenyan and Danish runners across a number of physiological measures, with experiments conducted by Bengt Saltin of the Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre.

Although they couldn't control for everything, it appeared that the Kenyans generally had a far better running economy - and a fairly strong correlation between smaller lower leg volume and better running economy was found. Not sure if this is the relevant paper but the abstract seems to make many of the same points as were on the documentary.

I've no doubt training regimes and environment also have a role to play in the differences between the two groups as well, but if you've a better running economy to start with that's got to help!

Ebuckley did right. When you understand Lydiard system, then mileage is not the main key. The key of Lydiard is to build a good aerobic base of course this tend to increase your mileage as you have to run every day. For a kind this has to be done progressively, you can not ask a beginner to run 10 miles everyday, this is just logic's. I think there is today still to many trainers that ask kind to run fast to quickly (at least in Switzerland).
I got once a team that ask me to care for kinds (13-17 years, almost beginners), my 1st task going with them every week to a race (2 months races !). I said no to this task, I am convince that you have to teach them how to run slow first.

Thanks, Kokonda (sounds like some monster's name from a Japanese movie!! ;o)), for sending me this site. For those of you who don't know who I am, I'm co-founder and co-executive director of Lydiard Foundation. I'd like to chip in a few comments.

Lydiard training is all about long-term planning. He used to always say that what you do this year is really for next year; it's not what you do this year or next year that matters but what you'll be doing in 7 years time. Particularly with young developing athletes, he always said that, for a teenager, "encourage them to train but not race" till he/she matures. That's actually a quote from a Swedish coach, Gosta Holmer. I don't mean to do a self-promotion here (but do anyways! ;o)) but we have created an idiot-proof Lydiard training on-line program (www.go2lydiard.com). One of the biggest motivations with this is to help high school coaches/runners. It'll give you any length of program between 12 to 24 weeks (suitable for US high school) and everything is based on time-base duration (instead of mileage) and VO2Max-based training pace including interval paces. If nothing else, go check it out just to get an idea. We believe this is one of the best ways to spread the Lydiard's preaching to wider audience.

I can't remember the exact number but I believe Japan has the second most numbers of sub-2:15 (or sub-2:30 for women) runners behind Kenya. I know a few things about Japanese running, having been a corporate team coach before, and they will be the first to admit they follow basic of Lydiard training first imported in 1963 by the late Kiyoshi Nakamura, coach of Toshihiko Seko. Japanese don't have physical talent of Kenyans (skinny calves?). Big part of their success is in training. I wouldn't go as far to say "anybody can coach Kenyans", but right now, Kenyan coaching is more or less "throw eggs against the wall and see how many come out without cracking" approach. You can do that with young US, or European, high school kids but the ratio of them coming out "un-cracked" will be much less than that of Kenyan kids who grew up running around all over the place.

Speaking of Dr. Saltin's study, I saw that documentary quite a while ago. The first person I talked to after I heard of that research was Peter Snell. He laughed and said, "Have you seen my calves?" Rod Dixon was actually making fun of it by saying that he had a calf-reduction surgery to be a better runner. Apparently there's another study that, if you have extra weight below your knee, your oxygen consumption level (economy) goes up (becomes less economical) by whatever % it was. It certainly would, or might, help. Of course, Australia's Rob de Castella was nicknamed as "Tree-trunk" for his big legs, including calves. Of course, they attributed his lack of injury throughout his career to his big legs.

In regards to that article, interesting article but, I'm sorry, a terrible video of hill training!! I'm sorry but I'd have to say that's one of the worst hill training video I've ever seen. Please do NOT lean backwards like the guy in the video is doing. At first, I was watching it with the volume down. I thought they were just showing ALL the bad uphill techniques!! Again, don't mean to do a self-promotion but here's a much better hill training clip: http://www.lydiardfoundation.org/training/hilltrai...

I've no doubt training regimes and environment also have a role to play in the differences between the two groups as well, but if you've a better running economy to start with that's got to help!

Couldn't the training regimes and environment be a factor in the development of better running economy?

Exactly

@Cristina: Daniel's seems to think so. That's why (in contrast to Lydiard) he encourages teenagers to run moderate mileage and do a fair bit of speedwork, saving the big miles for their 20's when they are more able to put in long runs without developing slow strides.

Also, (and I'm way out of my depth here, just speaking from personal experience), I was a barefoot runner long before it was fashionable. Didn't get my first pair of running shoes until I was 15 (1978). By then, I had well over 10,000 miles in the legs and had developed a stride that seems to have kept me injury free over the ensuing 30 years. Note that these weren't cushy morning runs on golf courses. I did almost all my training on city streets. If you can run 15 miles on concrete with no shoes, you know you've got a nice light stride.

I am in admiration for the barefoot runners, impressive !!!
I am using Lydiard way since 8 years and I progress every year, without injuries. This year it will be more difficult, getting older... My max weekly mileage was one time 100km usually it is around 55km and 70 km. You do regularly speed work with Lydiard as well. What I like with Lydiard is that I can reach my top form the day of my main event. On the other hand what is difficult with Lydiard is when you plan to compete all the year around. With this scenario you do not have time to plan lot of aerobic weeks.

I've heard about a study that its an advantage to have a long ancle to knee length compared to your thigh length. Kenyans are known to have long calves, so that could contribute to better running economy. Possibly, because of that advantage, there has developed this running culture very unlike most other places in the world. Im sure just how Norway has the advantage of getting a shit load of snow every winter, creating a skiing culture; or some similar analisys that might back up that point.

Advantages of Kenyans for long distance running could be listed in this thread on and on.

High altitude (3000 m ) training locations with temperate climate available year round.
Country's bad economic conditions giving the growing up kids tremendous motivation to work hard.
Centuries of acclimatization and dealing with overheating and heat conditions.
Infrastructure that not only encourages but forces kids to run for long miles just to survive (school shopping etc...)
Genetic makeup advantages (muscle fibers, light bone structure, high VO2Max not a small part of which is due to their light frame and low body fat. )

These are just facts of life and the rest of the world's athletes just need to deal with it. The same way any third world country deals with the inequalities in standard of living for them and us here in US and Europe.

But as the Lydiard system plug guy said above: Japanese runners were (are?) really big force in marathon running not because of their genetic or environmental advantages but because their discipline to do the hard work necessary.

To Mathias:
Major part of your forward driving force in running is moving your thigh forward.
All the things below reduce the force needed to move your leg/knee/thigh forward:
-- The shorter your thigh is, the smaller the force (Longer lower leg translates to shorter thigh )
-- The lighter your leg is the smaller the force (small calf means lower weight)
-- back leg high kick (again reduces the length of the lever thus the force needed to move the thigh forward.)
-- Midfoot and toe runners step directly under or even behind their center of gravity, so they use their hamstrings and back of the upper leg muscles (not sure what the English word is) and not calfs to push forward their body, so not much calf strength is needed to efficient long distance running.

Some of the points are genetic, some of the points certain people get to do them naturally or by training. The more of the above apply to you the more you will be considered that you have good running economy.

it's just physics :)

So:
1 go get that calf reduction surgery (after 3 below you won't need it )
2 Transplant 6 inches from your thigh bone to your calf bone
3 Get into POSE running method

Your running economy will skyrocket.

Just make sure that if you do go the POSE route, you are really moving your hips forward. Many people who try this end up just leaning forward with their upper body, which actually moves the hips back leaving the footplant ahead of your hips, which is exactly what POSE is trying to correct. At any rate, if you run enough 200's at R-pace on the track, you'll develop a reasonably efficient stride without even thinking about it.

As for genetic talent, sure, there are real differences in physique that matter at the elite level. But most of us are so far below our limits that it's a bit crazy to even think about that. Put in the effort, you'll get results. Don't worry about your genes slowing you down until your marathon time is under 2:30.

Finally, just a note on the barefoot running, lest people think that I'm suggesting 100-mile weeks on streets with no shoes. I bothered to check my medical history last night. A month after my 14th birthday, I had my annual physical and was recorded at 5'10", 127 pouinds. A year later, it's 6'1", 155 pounds. And that's about the time I decided that buying some running shoes was a good idea. Kids can greatly benefit from barefoot running because it develops a good stride and they are so light that they won't likely suffer overuse injuries. As you get heavier and increase mileage, some cushioning makes sense. I currently run 10-15 miles a week barefoot (on grass) and wear shoes for the rest. As has been said - it's just physics.