As the sun starts to peak over the Aberdare Mountains, pouring over Iten, Kenya, thousands of feet pound on the dirt roads in perfect rhythm. This small city, with a population of just over 42,000 people perched 8,000 feet above sea level in Kenya’s Rift Valley, is often referred to as the “Home of Champions” for a reason. Some of the world’s most dominant distance runners come from its many training camps, athletes who have turned this remote highland region into an epicenter of running excellence.
“When you watch them run, it’s like poetry in motion,” said Bansi Pande ’25, co-captain of the Bronx Science Boys’ Varsity Track team.
The Rise to Prominence
The supremacy of East African athletes in distance running is not merely anecdotal. Since 1988, seventy-five percent of male and female winners in major international distance running competitions have been of East African origin, primarily from Kenya and Ethiopia. At major marathons worldwide – from New York to London, Boston to Berlin – the sight of East African runners breaking the tape has become almost expected. In the 2024 New York City Marathon, East African runners took the top three spots in both the men’s and women’s divisions, continuing a pattern of dominance that has persisted for decades. Their achievements have spawned countless studies, theories, and attempts at explanation. Scientists point to remarkable physiological adaptations: exceptional lung capacity developed at high altitudes, uniquely efficient running economy, and optimal body composition for distance running.
Anthropologists point to cultural factors. Children in many such countries run miles to school and back again, live an active lifestyle, and grow up in communities where running is the primary sport of interest. Yet, the complete picture continues to evade them.
The success of East African distance runners cannot be pinned to one single factor; rather, they seem to be the product of a near perfect storm that blends genetic potential, environmental adaptation, cultural support, and disciplined training. East Africa’s dominance is so deeply ingrained in the landscape of distance running today that it is hard to imagine a time when athletes from the region were not topping podiums. But the journey to global supremacy began with a series of pivotal breakthroughs in the mid-20th century, moments that transformed the sport forever and turned the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia into a mecca for distance running.
The world first saw the potential of East Africa in distance running at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila came into the marathon as a relative unknown, but his stunning victory made history.
Running barefoot over Rome’s cobblestone streets, Bikila set a new world record and became the first sub-Saharan African to win an Olympic gold medal. His victory symbolized not only Ethiopia’s pride but also the untapped athletic potential of East Africa. Bikila’s historic win was not a fluke: he defended his title in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics with an improved time from his first, while recovering from an appendectomy only weeks before. These two consecutive victories made him an international icon and set Ethiopia’s reputation as a powerhouse in distance running. While Ethiopia led the way, Kenyan athletes soon rose to compete for world titles..
The 1968 Mexico City Olympics was a pivotal event for Kenya. Kipchoge Keino, a former Kenyan policeman, had to overcome several challenges, including sickness and competition at an altitude of 7,300 feet. Surprisingly, he rose to the occasion with a legendary performance in which he first defeated the world record holder Jim Ryun, an American, in the 1,500 meters race. Keino’s upset victory demonstrated that East African athletes, accustomed to training at high altitudes, possessed an advantage that allowed them to recover faster while running longer distances.
Keino’s victory made a generation of Kenyans take to running. The same Olympics also saw Kenya win medals in a plethora of track and field events, sealing the nation’s position as an emerging power in athletics. The “Kenyan wave” had started to build, and its ripples would soon reach every corner of the world. With the expanded talent pool, local and international organizations began investing in the development of East African runners.
By the 1990s, East Africans had solidified their lock on distance running, most notably in the marathon. Kenyan and Ethiopian runners regularly swept the top places at major marathons at Boston, Berlin, and London. The rivalry between the two countries made for intrigue-the likes of Kenya’s Paul Tergat and Ethiopia’s Gebrselassie duke it out for supremacy on the track and road.
In Kenya, the establishment of the Rift Valley Athletics Training Centre and mentorship from coaches like Brother Colm O’Connell, an Irish missionary, created an environment where young athletes could thrive. O’Connell, widely regarded as the “godfather of Kenyan running,” played a big role in developing several Olympic champions, including David Rudisha, who smashed the 800-meter world record at the 2012 London Olympics.
In Ethiopia, athletic development plans were also put into place. The Ethiopian Athletics Federation worked with iconic runners such as Haile Gebrselassie to mentor and inspire younger generations. Gebrselassie – a two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion – had personified the spirit and dogged perseverance that would soon typify the Ethiopian runner.
The new millennium saw even more achievements: Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge redefined the limits of the marathon, being the first human to run 26.2 miles in under two hours in 2019, and Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba ascending to track and field stardom after winning three Olympic gold medals.
Physiological Advantages
One of the most critical factors in the dominance of East African runners is high-altitude living. Many of the most successful athletes hail from regions such as Kenya’s Rift Valley and the Ethiopian Highlands, areas that sit between 6,000 and 9,000 feet above sea level. These elevations, where the air contains significantly less oxygen, create an environment where the human body must adapt to thrive. For native-born athletes raised in these conditions, the adaptations begin early and are deep-rooted, giving them a huge advantage in endurance sports.
One of the most serious physiological changes induced by the phenomenon of high-altitude residences is increased erythrocyte production. Because of the lower levels of oxygen at high altitudes, there is increased excretion of the hormone erythropoietin, a secretion that initiates erythropoiesis (or red blood cell production) capable of carrying oxygen to muscles. This adaptation has proven to increase aerobic capacity over time and enables East African athletes to maintain speedier velocities for longer. Besides that, they also have higher levels of hemoglobin, allowing them to transport and utilize oxygen in the best possible way during intensive physical activity. All of this strengthens these special athletes’ abilities to achieve spectacular stamina and speed long-distance running.
A “Running Culture”
The physiological advantages gained from high-altitude living are only one part of the equation. Equally important are unique cultural and training practices that have become so deeply ingrained in East African running communities. In places like Iten, running is not simply a sport-it is a way of life and, for many, a pathway to economic stability.
The training programs of East African runners are very different from the methods of the West. Though elite runners in every part of the world follow structured programs, the East African way is often volume-oriented. Moreover East African athletes tend to train in larger groups, developing a collaborative-competitive environment that helps drive everyone forward. This community-oriented approach to training, along with a simple lifestyle that emphasizes rest and recovery, allows athletes to tolerate the extraordinary mileage that their programs call for.
A “running culture” reinforces their unique training. Most East African runners grow up in communities where running is deeply entwined into daily living. Children often have to run long distances to school, unknowingly building their aerobic base at a young age. This early exposure to endurance activity, along with typically high complex carbohydrate and low processed food dietary intakes, sets the framework that is conducive to future athletic success.
The role that running camps have played in these communities cannot be understated. The numerous camps scattered in the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia serve as incubators for running talent. Young athletes live, train, and learn together under the tutelage of former champions who pass on knowledge and experience. This infrastructure surrounding running ensures the training practices are preserved and enhanced for generations.
As is often the case in sports, success breeds success, and the performances of Eliud Kipchoge, Tirunesh Dibaba, and countless other East African distance running icons continue to motivate young athletes, driving them to flock to the sport in record numbers.
In a world where distance running has been subject to dramatic evolution through advances in training technology and sports science, East African runners continue to stay one step ahead of the rest with their unique blend of physiological adaptation, cultural support, and time-tested training methods. Their dominance is a testament not only to natural gifts but also to the power of environment, culture, and dedicated practice in shaping athletic excellence that can span many generations.
“When you watch them run, it’s like poetry in motion,” said Bansi Pande ’25, co-captain of the Bronx Science Boys’ Varsity Track team.