10 things Kenyan runners do ......

​Run and train the Kenyan way – 10 things Kenyan runners do.

1. Train without a Heart rate monitor. As legendary marathon coach Renato Canova put it, “A heart rate monitor puts a limit on a runner, Kenyans like to run free, without limits.”
2. Eat lots of Ugali. Ugali is a maize based food, high in carbohydrate, which looks a bit like mashed potato. Fairly tasteless, but the Kenyans believe it gives them power for the following days run.
3. Stretch after the run. All over Iten you see Kenyan runners standing on street corners after their run completing their stretching routine.
4. Make easy runs really easy. Ten minute miles are not uncommon on an easy run.
5. Make hard runs really hard.
6. Take a complete rest day every week. Rehydrate with lots of water.
7. Vary the running surface. Kenyans run on trails, in the forest, on the running track and occasionally on the road.
8. Double session in the morning anyone? Sometimes a 6.30am run can be followed by a 10am run. It gets a double session out of the way and trains the body to recover quickly.
9. Early to bed, early to rise. Lights out at around 10pm allows for an early morning run at sunrise.
10. 5-a-day! Fresh green vegetables similar to spinach, which are high in iron, are consumed in large quantities on a daily basis.

Colin Thomas.
Colin is a freelance Physiologist, writer and speaker who helps runners, beginners to elite, all over the world to reach their running goals. He has spent time in Kenya with some of the world’s best coaches and athletes. A runner himself with a current marathon pb of 2.33.
www.performancerunningspecialist.com
[email protected]