Kenyan Running

You would think the other parts of the world would have access to the same type of training and other benefits, but in reality they don’t. From a young age, they run and do hard labor. At an early age, Kenyans might see running as a way out of poverty and a way to help their family and tribe. Their motives are different than most other countries.

Also differing from other countries, they are built differently. They have small calves and not a lot of bulk on their bodies to weigh them down. Thus, using less energy with every stride. As well as conserving energy, they make sure they relax and recover. They also get a good amount of sleep, especially if they are specifically training to be an elite runner. They would work hard every day and when they aren’t running they would be relaxing and recovering. They also have good positives throughout life.

We run and lift every day to embody one of the key components of the Kenyan life style. While others go to museums to learn about history, games to understand strategies, or other things to do whatever, we were living like a Kenyan to help us better understand where they come from.

This discovery term has been a blast. During Kenyan Running we have done a variety of different things. We have put ourselves in the shoes of the Kenyans by running every morning along with strength training to represent a small portion of hardship that the Kenyans face every day. After our runs we research different topics that related to “why Kenyans are so good at running”. In the afternoon we watch informative and inspirational movies.

-Joe McDarris

I am so happy that I got this discovery term!! At the start I didn’t believe that I could run the distances that we are running. The workouts also gave me confidence in my strength and has given me inspiration to workout more.

– Harrison Reed

This discovery term has been very conducive to my knowledge about what makes a great runner and how that connects to the Kenyan’s ability. I also enjoy the workouts in the morning as we can get an insight of how the Kenyans train.

– Kenan Balkas

Coach Hall is the bomb! Honestly, Anything that he teaches will be extraordinary. However, Kenyan Running is special in it’s own right. Learning about the Kenyan culture from movies, races, and books has really enriched my knowledge about East African society. Kenyan running will always have a special place in my heart.

-Luke Henderson

This DT has been very informative to me and lots of others, judging the responses of others. I have run a lot and learned a lot about Kenyan culture. The Kenyan culture and ways have enhanced me and Big R’s knowledge and updated me and Big R on how Americans live and Kenyans live, relating to running.

-Ray Faison

This discovery term has been very beneficail to me in many ways.  I have learned about Kenya in general and more specifically Kenyan runners.  We have run everyday in class and watch movies after lunch everyday.  The movies have been very good and i have learned a lot from them.

— Parker Courts

This discovery term has been great for me because I am a runner so I enjoy learning about Kenyan running. I feel like being able to study the most elite distance runners in the world helps me to be a better runner. Coach Hall is great and he keeps me motivated and inspired to run.

— Chase Coley

I have enjoyed this discovery term because of all the ways that we were able to learn about and be immersed in kenyan running. This included running and training itself, watching inspiring race videos and movies, as well as going to a kenyan restaurant. This is definitely the best DT.

— Coleman Mitchell

I have enjoyed learning about kenyan runners as well as ethiopian runners as well as their lifestyle and training methods.  The mentality and physicality of runners in that area of the world is incredible.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the physical aspects of this DT as well as the educational aspects through use of film and discussion as well as observations of famous athletes.

-Will Snider

Runninghas been fun. The research has been really intense as has the workouts been. I loved listening to other’s research presentations yesterday, and the movies have been spectacular.

-Thomas Hoffmann

I enjoyed this DT a lot more than I thought I would’ve. I was the only girl in this DT, but I don’ think that changed anything. I think more girls should sign up for this DT in the future. During the past 2 weeks, I have learned a lot about runners and other Olympians. I believe that I am able to take what i learned these past weeks and use them in everyday situations.

-Isabella Barnette

 

Day 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eZ-x4IEoXM&t=5s

The inspirational video of the day was 10,000 men final at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games. The 10 best were all from Africa and the two USA members had roots in Africa. The race was like Friday’s video. This race basically shows the Kenyan’s dominance in distance events. The movie of the day was Rocky III. Instead of focusing on just running, we decided to watch this movie to see the mental aspect of the sport. Along with good physical shape and good genetics, Rocky shows superior training, mental toughness, and desire.

Day 6: Hicham El Guerrouj at the 2004 Olympic Games

The daily video was a documentary of Hicham El Guerrouj. The video talked about how hard he worked and had to overcome difficulties. He was determined and pushed himself beyond what he thought he could do. He was thought to have one of the best kicks. Moving into the research portion of the day, we shared our research and began to work further in perfecting our presentation for Friday. The movie was watched was McFarland USA. It is about one man that recognized a group of guys potential in running. The coach learned a lot about hard work and determination, while his runners learned discipline and respect.

Day 7:

The day started off with a whole group discussion/analysis about Kenyan runners. We basically took a step back and recapped why they were so fast and what makes them different.

A few students and coach Conrad discussing Kenyans.

The film of the day was called 9.79*. It was a documentary of 1988 Olympic gold medalist in he 100m, Ben Johnson. They interviewed him as well as runners that competed against him. The film focused on the 1988 Seuol Olympics and about the drug uses during the time. We watched this movie because it was about running.

Day 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMQbzC0DD-s 

The daily video was about two runners and their finish of the 10k race at the 1992 World Junior Championships. It was head and head with Haile Gebrselassie and Josephat Machuka. When Gebrselassie passes Machuka in the final 25m, Machuka punched Gebrselassie in the back of the head. Surprisingly, the hit gave his fellow competitor a boost over the finish line and ended up finishing a second faster than what he would’ve. For lunch, we went to an Ethiopian restaurant called Awaze. Ethiopian food is similar to Kenyan food.

Thoughts on Ethiopian food: mixed, relatively good, adventurous

-Isabella B.

 

Day 1:

On the first day, we realized we were quite out of shape. After our first run of the DT, we were tired and sweaty. After we finished working out and getting cleaned up, we headed back to the classroom. Out big question for the   DT was why are Kenyans so good at running. We got into groups and began researching topics. Following lunch, we watched a film called Cool Runnings. The movie was loosely based on the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team. In the movie, they team was built from the idea of pushcart. Taking the best push cart driver and the fastest 3 sprinters who missed their shot on the Olympic team created the team. The team demonstrated going from nothing to something, overcoming obstacles and proving the others countries wrong. “A lot has been learned and I feel inspired to go to new limits” says Luke Henderson, 2020.

Day 2: Men’s 5000m Final Barcelona Olympics 1992

Starting the second day, we watched the inspirational race of the morning. Today’s video was men’s 5000m final at 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The only white guy in the lead pack, with others from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Morocco, was German Bieter Bauman. At the beginning of the race he was lagging in the lead pack and then with 250m left, he found an extra kick and pulled ahead, winning the race. The film that was watched in the afternoon was Without Limits. The film demonstrated learning new strategies in order to win. Better to run with the pack, then getting out in front to showboat. A race was a work of art. The purpose of the race was to test the limits of the human heart.

A quote by Steve Prefontaine.

Day 3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FToLNEr9YY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpMlAe7X8Uo

Third day started off with the daily inspirational race of the morning. Today’s video was the 1996 Atlanta Olympics men’s 10k. After, we discussed about their running strategies and a little about Olympics history. The runners don’t run to get the world record, but to win the gold. The idea is to keep pace and have a fast kick at the end to win the gold, but if you don’t have a fast kick, you should keep a fast pace the whole time and hope the others can’t stay with you. Later in the day, we continued our talk about running and why Kenyan runners are better than their neighboring countries. We looked into the country’s political stance, geography and a little about their genes and heritage. The movie for the day was Endurance. The film was a documentary about runner, Haile Gebrselassie and how he channeled his talent in rural Ethiopia to help his family. The movie was about the race we watched early in the morning (’96 men’s 10k).

Day 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTYwp-8hMFw

Today’s inspirational race of the morning was 2012 London Olympics men’s 3000m steeplechase. This event is like a distance event, but needs power surges in order to keep going after clearing each obstacle. As seen in today’s video, Kenyan runners were not the lead in the pack, but with a few laps left, they make their ways to the front and  fight to the finish. After we watched our morning video, we went down to the track and did our day of service. We moved the hurdles to one corner of the track, 1 by 1, to experience the Kenyan lifestyle. The movie we watched was Chariots of Fire. The main characters all experience the passion of the sport differently. One of the runner’s motive for running was religious. Came the Olympics, he refused to run one of his races because it was on a Sunday and he believed that Sunday was for god.

Before we started our day of service activity.

-Isabella B.

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