Why Do Kenyans Excel At Long Distance Races?

Because they are used to chasing antelopes for a long time while hunting; some people would hilariously say. Kenya is a country known for its abundance of
wildlife in fact the Kenyan national flag has two crossed spears and a shield from what I can see, but that would be a discovery article for another day.

Back to the bone of contention. Statistically, in the perennial Olympics, Kenyans have won 91 medals and 61 of those medals coming from long distance races. Quite shocker, if you have been following other sporting events like the Commonwealth games you will see that this feat did not just stop in the men categories of both; it is also prominent in the women categories. Take for instance in the Boston marathon in 2012, the first, second and third positions were all Kenyans. Since the late 80’s till now their dominance in these games have been out of the world. This still begs the question, “why do Kenyans excel at long distance races?”

One popular reason is genetics, due to their long limbs and slender body structure it is believed based on research to be suitable for the marathons. Do you think genetics is a reason?

Another reason carried out has proven that a great percentage on Kenyan kids as of the 90’s and maybe up to date-who knows, run or walk for about 8 to 20 kilometers to school and back. I think this is a better reason though am still puzzled by the question above. So what’s your take on this?