TRAINING THE KENYAN WAY

THE SPEECH IS DIVIDED IN 7 CHAPTERS:

1. A QUICK WALK THROUGH HISTORY / HOW KENYA BECAME THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
COUNTRY FOR MIDDLE AND LONG DISTANCE RUNNING

2. DO THEY HAVE GENETIC ADVANTAGES? / WHAT DOES SCIENCE TELL US?

3. WHAT DO KENYANS EAT? / THE BASIC FOOD / STUDY WITH TOP ATHLETES FROM
GLOBAL SPORTS

4. THE MEN WHO MADE AND MAKE KENYANS RUN / FROM CHARLES MUKORA TO
BROTHER COLM O’CONNELL

5. THE ITALIAN FACTOR / GABRIELE ROSA AND CLAUDIO BERARDELLI

6. INDIVIDUAL TRAINING PROGRAMMES / TEGLA LOROUPE, LORNAH KIPLAGAT,

CATHERINE NDEREBA, DANIEL KOMEN, PAUL TERGAT, SAIF SAEED SHAHEEN (EX STEPHEN
CHERONO)

7. CONCLUSION

1. A QUICK WALK THROUGH HISTORY

In the early days of mankind, those who best adapted survived ecological changes and later
learned how to make use of primitive tools and snatch something away from the wild animals’
hunt. Only the cleverest of our ancestors survived and passed their genetic make-up to the
next generation.

According to today’s knowledge, it was not only Homo erectus who lived 1.6 million years
ago, that has his origin in East Africa but also Homo sapiens. From there, 40,000 to 50,000
years ago he moved in the footsteps of his forefathers to Asia and Europe and drove away
the early human beings. The huge Rift Valley, which is almost 6,000 kilometers long, and
stretches from the Jordan Valley through the Red Sea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania
southward through Africa, developed 20 million years ago and cuts Kenya in two. The Rift
Valley is believed to be the birth place of mankind. And, nowadays, it is the birth place of the
majority of the world class middle and long distance runners.
KENYA’S LAST 160 YEARS
1850 Researchers and missionaries, mainly from Germany and United Kingdom, reach Kenya and set up
missions and stations.
1884/85 At a conference in Berlin, the area of today’s states, Uganda and Kenya, becomes the British sphere of
influence.
1896-1901 The British construct a railway. Nairobi is founded.
1920 The British declare their protectorate the Kenyan Colony.
1952-1956 A revolt of the Mau-Mau freedom movement.
1963 Kenya gains independence and one year later becomes a republic with Jomo Kenyatta as its first
president.
2009 Total population 39 million; approx. 6 million in Nairobi.

At the beginning of the 20th century, many British settled in Kenya and they became wealthy
with their huge tea and coffee plantations. In the course of the years, the colonial power
brought sport to Kenya. Golf, tennis, cricket, horse racing and polo were the sports for the
white elite, while soccer, boxing and athletics were left to the locals. Initially, African sport was
concentrated in the Armed forces (army, police). Later, there were colonial championships
and even “inter territorial” meetings with neighboring Uganda. When Kenya became
independent in December 1963, it had already participated in two Olympic Games: Melbourne
1956 and Rome 1960. It was Wilson Kiprugut who won the first medal for his country, a
bronze in the 800 meters at the 1964 Games in Tokyo. Four years later in Mexico, Kenya was
celebrating its first Olympic gold medals won by Naftali Temu and Kipchoge Keino, who is the
chairman of the National Olympic Committee and known as the father of the running tradition
in Kenya.

The first Kenyan government under President Jomo Kenyatta reformed the school system,
and it was at that time when the sport entered secondary schools – a goldmine for scouts. It
didn’t last long before American colleges became aware of the English-speaking Kenyan
running talent. Such athletes as Sammy Koskei, Paul Ereng,.Peter Rono, Peter Koech, Julius
Kariuki, Ibrahim Hussein, Yobes Ondieki and Patrick Sang went to U.S. Universities and
managed to reach the top while they were there in the eighties, Mike Boit already ten years
earlier. During that period, the international Athletics Federation, IAAF, dispensed with its
antiquated amateur rules.

RUNNING AWAY FROM POVERTY

FIGURES FROM THE CIA FACTBOOK:
- 15% of Kenyans older than 15 years old are not able to write or read
- 50% of the population lives under the poverty line (less than 1 US-$ a day)
- The poorest 10% share 2% of the household income, the richest 10% have 37.2%
- 40% are jobless
- The life expectancy is 56 years (only 2.6% of the population is 65 years and over)

More and more Kenyans realized that in Europe and the USA it was possible to make a living
on running. As more athletes were able to build nice houses or buy farms after their trips to
the “Promised Land” and managed to run away from poverty, the more children wanted to
emulate them. (And more and more foreign agents or managers realized that with Kenyan
athletes they could earn good money.) There is no country in the world that produces so
many world-class athletes than Kenya.
2. DO THEY HAVE GENETIC ADVANTAGES?
Kenyan runners are dominating the world lists from 800 meters to marathon. For many years,
scientists from all over the world tried to find reasons for the Kenyan superiority in long
distance running. These days, they have ruled out most of the popular explanations. Given
the fact that most of the East African runners live at an altitude between 1,800 and 2,400
meters above sea level, many scientists thought that this could be the main factor. At these
altitudes, there is an increase in red blood cells, which are responsible for oxygen transport in
the muscles. But scientists have found altitude is not the key of the riddle. There is no
difference between Kenyan and other world-class athletes in their capacity to consume
oxygen. And the Kenyan diet is nothing special beside the fact that they don’t eat a lot of meat
and have a very high carbohydrate intake compared with Americans or Europeans.

Is there a gene that favors endurance? The differences in physique and muscle make-up that
underline the dominance of Kenyan endurance runners and West African sprinters doubtless
have a strong genetic component. The Kenyan runners are small, thin and tend to weight
between 50 and 60 kilograms, whereas West African athletes are taller and a good 30
kilograms heavier. The differences don’t stop with body shape; there is also evidence of a
difference in the predominant types of muscles fibers: West Africans have many more fast-
twitch fibers, East Africans more slow-twitch fibers.

Researchers are only getting off the starting blocks in the search for genes that influence
running performance. Yannis Pitsiladis of the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Biomedical
and Life Science has spent the past few years in searching for a special “running gene”.
Asked about his findings so far, he answered: “In the years to come, we are sure it will be
proved that if you don’t have the right genes then you won’t be a top athlete. What we’ll also
discover is that it will be the same genes making East African runners successful as those
that make Paula Radcliffe a winner.”

In any case, there is a gene called ACE (Angiotensis Converting Enzyme), found by British
scientists in 1998, which is connected to the endurance performance of a human being. This
“endurance gene” influences the blood circulation’s control mechanism in the muscles.
Scientists discovered that mountaineers who were able to move even at a height of 7,000
meters without the help of additional oxygen have a special composition of this gene.

So what about Kenyan runners? An important clue is the ability to resist fatigue longer. Lactid
acid, generated by tired, oxygen-deprived muscles, accumulates slower in their blood.
Comparisons of lactate levels have suggested to the group of Bengt Saltin from the Muscle
Research Center in Copenhagen that Kenyan runners squeeze about 10 percent more
mileage from the same oxygen intake than Europeans.

Just as more aerodynamic cars get better gas mileage, the Kenyan physiology helps explain
their fuel efficiency. The Kalenjin possess birdlike legs, which are thin and long. Saltin’s group
with Henrik Larsen and Hans Södergaard has quantified this observation. Compared with
Danes, the thinner calves of Kenyans have, on average, 400 grams or 12 percent less flesh in
each lower leg. According to the study, this explains why the running economy was found to
be 10 percent better in the Kenyans. Apart from this fact, the Kenyans had relatively longer
legs (5 percent), which is probably a result of the nomadic life these people were used to for
generations at high altitude. To be able to move over great distances with low energy
expenditure has been essential in order to survive. (Thinner legs mean fewer muscles and
this means less oxygen is used to move the legs.)

THE KEY FINDINGS OF THE SALTIN GROUP

• Elite Kenyan runners were about 7cm shorter and about 5kg lighter than elite Danish runners.
Furthermore, the body mass index of the Kenyans was substantially lower.
• Kenyan runners had lower plasma lactic acid concentrations at sub-maximal running speeds,
also when related to oxygen uptake.
• No difference in muscle fiber composition was observed. There were, however, some distinct
differences in the muscle enzyme profile. The activity of the HAD enzyme (3-hydroxyacyl CoA
dehydrogenase) was markedly higher in the muscles of the Kenyan runners indicating that they
have a better ability to utilize fat while running.
• Elite Kenyan runners had a better running economy. Since elite Kenyan runners are more slender
than Danish runners, they run faster at a given energy production per kilogram of body weight. In
addition, Kenyans have thinner lower legs. The lower leg thickness is a crucial factor for running
economy.

If it is true that mankind survived and stood out against other creatures because of its ability
to run over long distances, does it mean that the Kenyan super-runners are human beings
made and prepared for an easy survival in the future? Or are the East Africans because of
their almost unchanged way of life over thousands of years only nearer at the origin of
mankind than we children of the affluent society?

3. WHAT DO KENYANS EAT?

Most Kenyan athletes come from poor families. In other words, for almost their first 20 years
of life their food is very simple but healthy. In a rural Kenyan home you might get meat only
once every one or two weeks. Sugar is only found in tea (Chai). The food intake only changes
when they go to national camps, where they get meat twice a day, and when they get in touch
with french-fries or hamburgers in Europe or the USA.
BASIC KENYAN FOOD
Carbohydrates:
- Ugali (a thick mash made out of boiled white maize meal and water, at least once a day)
- Chapati (looks like an omelette but is prepared only with flour, water and a little bit of oil
and salt)
- Uji (millet or maize porridge)
- Viazi (potatoes)
- Rice
- White bread

Iron and minerals:

- Sukuma Wiki (a kind of spinach) and other local vegetables

Protein:
- Maziwa (milk)
- Maziwa Lala (fermented milk)
- Mayai (eggs)
- Maharagwe (beans)

Vitamins:
- Matunda (fruits, especially green oranges, bananas, mangos and papayas)

A world-class Kenyan athlete like Paul Tergat eats most of these traditional foods but
also has pasta and meat on his menu. He drinks tea, fruit juice, water and, from time
to time, a soda.

A study with world-class athletes from Global Sports Communications (Jos Hermens’
company), carried out by the International Centre for East African Running Science
(ICEARS), showed that most of their nutrients came from vegetable sources, the
“staple” edibles being bread, boiled rice, poached potatoes, boiled porridge,
cabbage, kidney beans and ugali. Meat – primarily beef – was taken only four times
per week in fairly small amounts (about 100 grams per day). Naturally, a fair amount
of tea with milk and sugar was imbibed on a daily basis. The daily carbohydrate
intake has been measured at 76.5 percent, a far cry from the 49 percent of elite
distance runners in the United States. They were ingesting about 10.4 grams of
carbohydrates per kilogram of body mass each day. An amazing fact was their
consistency: every 24 hours, they took in about 600 grams of carbohydrate, with very
little variation from day to day. They were truly stocking their muscles with glycogen.
Incidentally, sports-nutrition experts frequently recommend that athletes involved in
strenuous training should consume at least 9 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of
body mass per day.

Their fat intake was found to be modest: about 13.4 percent of daily calories came
from fat (approximately 46 grams), with 61 percent of these calories coming from
milk. Protein intake amounted to 10.1 percent of all calories and a total of 1.3 grams
of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. (Sports nutritionists call for
approximately 1.2 grams per kilogram for endurance athletes.) None of the 10 top-
class athletes was taking any kind of supplements. The mean height of the 10
athletes was 1.75 meters, their body weight averaging 58.6 kilograms and their body
fat ranging from 6 to 10 percent. They all belonged to the Kalenjin tribe, two were
specialized in the 1,500m running, the others were training for 8 and 12km cross-
 country competitions. Another remarkable aspect: They ate four times a day:
breakfast (after the first training) at 8:00, mid-morning snack at 10:00, lunch at 1 pm,
and afternoon snack at 4 pm and supper at 7 pm. – It seems the Kenyan athletes
instinctively eat the right stuff.

4. THE MEN WHO MADE AND MAKE KENYANS RUN

The Kenyan athletics federation, Athletics Kenya, has failed to remain in control of its
athletes. Today, agents have the power. They were the ones who were establishing camps in
the country and who are still spending a lot of money on developing young talents. In Kenya,
the running scene has changed dramatically in the past 30 years. First, the Armed Forces
were the main employers for the runners, later came other public institutions, such as the
Prison Administration and the Kenyan Postal Services. They still play a certain role. Many of
the best female athletes, among them Catherine Ndereba, belong to the Prisons Services,
athletes like Paul Tergat to the Armed Forces. At the national championships, the athletes
compete in the colors of their local employers, but at the same time they belong to Global
Sports, Rosa & Associati, Demadonna Athletics or Kimbia Athletics.

All these agencies maintain one or more training camps in the country. Normally these camps
are rental houses, in some cases they are built only for this purpose. In most of these “camps”
a European or American athlete would not last even two weeks because everything is very,
very simple. “Dottore” Rosa’s Nike camp at Kapsait in the Cherangani Hills at 3,000m above
sea level is one example why. Here, were the world ends, there is space for 100 athletes, but
there is no running water and no network for mobile phones. The athlete’s life consists of
training, eating and sleeping.

Let’s take you back to the ‘60s for a while. Kenya gained its independence on December 12,
1963, and a year later there was a total shift in authority and power. The newly independent
state began to view sports as a means of developing nationalism and increasing national
prestige. The transformation from a country that was a total colony in every sense of the word
to an independent country with its own identity, its own national anthem, its own flag all
happened in a very short period of time. People like John Velzian, a British who came to
Kenya in 1959 and Charles Mukora, the man who was in charge of preparing the Kenyan
team for the most successful Olympic Games in Mexico City, were two of the most influencing
people when it comes to Kenyan athletics between 1960 and 1975.

Then there was a German who made a difference. When Walter Abmayr, a sports diploma
teacher from Germany, arrived in Kenya in November 1980 with his wife, Sylvia, athletics was
on its knees after the boycotts of the Olympics in 1976 and 1980. Abmayr came within the
framework of a project for technical assistance in the Third World, financed by the German
government for developing the sports of athletics on a large scale. Abmayr’s main task was
building up an infrastructure for local competitions and training coaches at all levels. During
the time when Abmayr was in the country, more than 500 Kenyans completed the courses
successfully.
Mike Kosgei was his assistant and took over as the national coach in 1985, when Abmayr
left the country. Kosgei, the “sly fox”, was in charge of the national team from 1985-1995 and
from 2001-2004. It is hard to say if Mike Kosgei was one of the best coaches the world has
ever seen. Looking at his record with the Kenyan national team, one would definitely agree.
On the other hand: The athletes were with him only for a few weeks when they prepared for
major championships. One thing is certain. When it comes to motivating the athletes or
preparing them tactically, you would hardly find a better coach.

MIKE KOSGEI’S KEY POINTS

• In the Western world people cannot survive without going to work. In Kenya most of the athletes have a
lot of time. They can train three times a day. And they are hungry in the real sense of the word.
• When Europeans or Americans are running, using stop watches and heart monitors, you can see for
them it is almost like work. Africans start running, mostly slowly, and then they accelerate. For them, it
is a kind of a game.
• After having a bad workout, a Kenyan will think: If I was not strong today, I will be next time. It started
with our great-grandfathers. When they had to look after the cattle, they used to wrestle to pass their
time. So when you wrestle and your opponent is putting you down, you don’t believe he has beaten
you. It is only that he took it today. Kenyans have transferred this philosophy to the track.

When we talk about the “real coaches”, the persons who worked and still work with the
runners on a daily basis, there is one man who developed more athletics talent than any other
coach in the word. When Colm O’Connell, that time a 28 year-old Irish Patrician Brother from
Cork, decided to take on a teaching job in the small Kenyan town of Iten, he never expected
that he would become the country’s most successful middle distance coach of all time.
Brother Colm had neither been an athlete nor a coach before. He came as an ordinary
teacher, but such is life. In the early ‘80s, Brother Colm completed coaching courses under
Walter Abmayr. He was with Jimmy Beauttah and Mike Kosgei in the first group of coaches.
Peter Rono, Matthew Birir, Wilson Kipketer and many more were coached by Brother Colm.
His latest “product” is 800 meter runner David Rudisha who bettered the African record in
Rieti this year to 1:42.01.

BROTHER COLM’S KEY POINTS

• In October, after a month or two’s rest, I sit down with my athletes. First of all we do a post-mortem. I let
the athletes do a lot of the analysis. The next couple of weeks we plan for the next season based on
what we know.
• Many athletes, when they lose a race, they go back home and start doing an excessive amount of speed
work for the next two or three weeks. Speed work is okay but in order to be effective in a race you have
to be up with the leaders. The speed has to be combined with the endurance.
• To develop the leg speed and leg turnover, I use a lot of exercises, a lot of striding patterns and work in
the gymnasium. That must be done in the early season. The speed must be built up through strength,
core strength and muscle development in the thighs.
• Talent itself is not enough. I prefer a little bit less talent and a little bit more of the supportive aspects of
training, like personality, education and mental toughness. As a coach I have to look also at the
background of an athlete and coordinate his support system.

Another coach who played an important role is Jimmy Beauttah. He was a night club
musician before he became a very successful coach. Beauttah, now the coach at the
IOC/IAAF training center at Eldoret, worked for the British agent, late Kim McDonald and
transformed Moses Kiptanui and Daniel Komen into world beaters. Of late, Beauttah coached
the two 1500 meter runners, Daniel Kipchirchir Komen and Asbel Kiprop who, after Rashid
Ramzi’s positive doping test, is the Olympic champion in waiting.

JIMMY BEAUTTAH’S KEY POINTS

• When it comes to mileage, fartleks or track workouts, there is not a big difference from one coach to
another. I was always using some special training methods. Sometimes we would go for a run, let’s say
one hour and fifteen minutes. Straight from the run, when the athletes have that state of fatigue in their
muscles, we start sprinting, maybe 10 times 100 meters. This can be once a week. The other thing we
do maybe once a week: Speed steps or sprinting with a tyre, which is fixed on a rope and a belt around
your waist. Pulling that tyre develops some extra ability in the muscle structure. I also use elastic
bands and sometimes free weights and medicine balls to condition the body. All these elements are
used individually according to the athlete’s fitness level. Early in the year the repetitions may be many
and slow, later short and fast.
• A distance runner, or at least his coach, should be aware of how important an efficient movement is.
Distance runners have to be anxious to save energy and to avoid wasteful movements – to get speed
with the minimum outlay of energy.

5. THE ITALIAN FACTOR

It was an Italian who taught Kenyans how to run a marathon. Before “Dottore” Gabriele Rosa
started to coach runners in the East African country, the Kenyan marathon runners hardly
existed. In 1990, there were only three Kenyans among the 100 fastest marathon runners in
the world. 18 years later there were 65! It was “Doctor”, as he is called respectfully, who
transformed Kenya into the leading country of marathon runners. His athletes were and are,
among many others: Moses Tanui, Paul Tergat, Robert Cheruiyot and Martin Lel. Rosa
changed the training philosophy and the attitude. Before he started working with Kenyans
they thought a marathon runner has to run three or four hours in a slow pace. He changed the
training completely to include more quality, individuality and purpose. And he built several
training camps in the country.

GABRIELE ROSA’S KEY POINTS

• It is pointless to go for a three-week high altitude training once a year. High-altitude training makes
sense only if you stay there for a longer period or several times a year. On the other hand, there is no
doubt that endurance athletes can benefit from the high altitude where you increase the red blood cells
that are vital for oxygen transport. Many world-class athletes decided to stay at places like Boulder,
Colorado where the altitude is equivalent with the Kenyan highlands. The body adapts after some time,
meaning it has more hemoglobin at its disposal and therefore a better oxygen uptake.
• I believe that running in a hilly area is very important for the leg strength of a marathon runner. The
other thing is the mileage. Quality is more important than quantity. Even top marathon runners don’t
need to run more then 230 or 240 kilometers a week but they have to go on a regular basis for long runs
over 30, 35 and in the third week even 38 kilometers. I believe in “progressive training speed”.
• Our marathon training takes three months. The intensity of the training rises more and more every
week until the last two weeks when the workload is reduced drastically.
• Probably the most important advice for a long distance runner who wants to move up to the marathon:
Be patient, it takes years. When you run the 10,000 meters, your body is consuming a lot of four-star
fuel. In the marathon, a completely different biochemistry takes place.

For the last two or three years Rosa withdrew more and more from the daily business on-side.
The one who took over the coaching job for Rosassociati is Claudio Berardelli. He is not
even 30 and yet already regarded as one of the most successful middle and long distance
coaches in the world. Claudio Berardelli led Alfred Kirwa Yego and Janeth Jepkosgei to World
Championship titles in 2007 and Nancy Lagat to Olympic victory. He is also coach to some of
the best marathoners, namely Martin Lel, Robert Cheruiyot, Duncan Kibet and James
Kwambai.

Berardelli admits that he owes a lot to Doctor Rosa, especially the training philosophy and the
approach. Berardelli recalls: “Doctor Rosa always told me I should remember that these guys
need to run. They don’t need to know what the various training sessions are for. You are the
coach, they are the athletes.” Claudio Berardelli’s athletes run a high percentage of high
intensity. When his middle distance runners prepare for the season, they are on the track four
or five times a week but they don’t push all the time. Alfred Yego can run 3x400m in 49, 48
and 49 seconds with 10 minutes recovery or 1000 meters in 2:25 min, followed by 800 meters
in 1:52 min and 600 meters in 1:22 min with 8 min recovery. In addition to this there is a slow
run of 50 to 55 minutes every day. The last three weeks before the Championships the
volume of the track training is reduced by half, but the intensity remains high.

When Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai ran 2:04:27 hours in Rotterdam in April they made
headlines also because of their training. In fact, both did only between 130 and 140
kilometers a week. Berardelli wanted them to run twice a day like all the other marathoners
but they always came up with an excuse. Finally, he told them instead of quarrelling all the
time, they should focus on the more important morning training and forget about the other
one. It worked out. According to the young Italian coach, there are in fact new studies
showing that even intensive training can help improving the endurance. Nevertheless, he
says, he doesn’t want to go that far and say that all the marathon runners should reduce their
training volume. Martin Lel reaches 180 or 190 kilometers a week, Robert Cheruiyot is
somewhere in between Duncan Kibet and Martin Lel.

CLAUDIO BERARDELLI’S KEY POINTS

• 365 days a year, my mind is around the athletes and the job. I am with them on a daily basis and I try to
understand their individual needs and differences. I knew when I wanted to be successful, I needed to
spend a lot of time in Kenya and be around the athletes. Now I am living eight or nine months a year in the
country. (Remark: The fact that Janeth Jepkosgei is his girlfriend makes it undoubtedly easier for him.)
• There are some coaches out there who write programmes on papers and give them to the athletes. These
programmes are often too complicated. If the athlete is not mentally connected, he will not do the training
at his maximum. Europeans often want to be managers, coaches and athletes at the same time – and they
get disturbed and are not able to focus on the training anymore. The Kenyan approach is sometimes
maybe a little bit simple but it can push them to new limits.
• I don’t know any Kenyan marathon runner who does 250 kilometers a week. In the course of the years I
have learned one thing: When it comes to the Kenyans there is a big difference between what they are
telling you and what they really do in their training.
• At the moment I might be the most successful coach but it doesn’t mean I am the best. Maybe the best
coach doesn’t have the most talented athletes to work with. What I can claim for myself: I have been able
to manage these top athletes and I am able to create the best situation for each of them.
6. INDIVIDUAL TRAINING PROGRAMMES
TEGLA LOROUPE: POWERS OF RECOVERY
Tegla Loroupe was three-time World Half-marathon Champion in 1997, 1998 and 1999, and she broke
two Marathon World Records in 1998 and 1999. Her coach and manager, Volker Wagner, a German,
admits, what made her different from others was her power of recovery after a race or a track workout.
For example, when she did the 1,000 meters 20 times at 3’15’’ the recovery in-between was not more
than 25 seconds.
14 days in March 1999
Mon 1h easy / 1 h easy
Tue 45’ easy / warm-up + 15 x 1,000m at 3’15’’-3’20’’, rec. 30’’
Wed 1h easy / 1h medium
Thu Warm-up + 10 x 1.8km with 400m hill
Fri 1h easy / 1h medium
Sat 1h30’ medium
Sun 2 h (30’ easy, 60’ fast, 30’ easy)
Mon 1h15’ (30’ easy, 45’ fast) / 1 h easy
Tue 45’ easy / warm-up + 8 x 2,000m at 6’40’’ to 6’20’’, rec. 30’’-45’’
Wed 1h45’ (easy-medium)
Thu 1h easy / 1h medium
Fri Travel to Lisbon / 45’ easy
Sat 45’ easy
Sun Half-marathon Lisbon (1. 67:53 min)

LORNAH KIPLAGAT: THE WHOLE YEAR STRENGTH TRAINING

World Records and Bests at Half-marathon (66:25 min), 10 miles (50:50 min) and 20 km (62:57 min).
World Champion Half-marathon 2007 and 2008, Cross-country 2007. After getting married to Pieter
Langerhorst in 2003, she is running for Netherlands but still spends a lot of her time in her native
Kenya.

Marathon training (training in Netherlands)

Mon 1h easy / 45’ easy
Tue 1h easy / 10 x 1,000m at 3’20’’, rec. 90’’
Wed 1h45’ easy-medium
Thu 1h fartlek (1’ fast, 1’ slow) / 1h easy
Fri 1h easy / 1h easy
Sat 1h30’ easy
Sun 2h30’ progressive* (beginning with 12 km/h, at the end 18 km/h)
* Before a half-marathon the long run is 1h45’
The whole year, Lornah is doing strength training in the gym 3-4 x a week, except for the last 3 days
before a race.

CATHERINE NDEREBA: DETERMINATION AND FIGHTING SPIRIT

Catherine Ndereba is the most successful marathon runner of the last 10 years. She broke the World
Record in 2001 and since 2001 won five medals at major championships: Gold at the World
Championships 2003 and 2007, Silver at the World Championships 2005, Silver at the Olympic
Games 2004 and 2008. Lives in Nairobi and Norristown (Pennsylvania), coached by El-Mostafa
Nechchadi.
Two weeks before the Olympic Marathon in Bejing
Mon 1h15’ easy-medium / 50’ easy
Tue Warm-up + 7 x 2,000m at 6’19’’-6’20’’, rec. 3’ / 60’ easy
Wed 1h15’ “Power Run” (75% of the 10km race pace)
Thu Warm-up + 20 x 400m at 68’, rec. 1’30’’ / 60’ easy
Fri 1h15’ “Power Run” (75% of the 10km race pace)
Sat 60’ marathon pace
Sun -

DANIEL KOMEN: A LOT OF TALENT

He broke his first World Record when he was only 19 years old. All together: 8 World Records
between 1995 and 1998. At the end of 2009, Komen is still the record holder at 3,000m (7:20.67 in
1996), 2 Miles (7:58.61 in 1997) and 3,000m Indoor (7:24.90 in 1998). He was World Champion at
5,000m in 1997. He is probably the most talented Kenyan runner of all time.

Training ahead of the World Record at 5,000m in 1997

Sun World Championships: 1. 5,000m
Mon 30’ / Travel from Athens to Zurich
Tue 30’
Wed Zurich: 30’ warm-up + 5,000m at 12:44.90 (2., Gebrselassie WR)
Thu 30’ / Travel to London
Fri 30’
Sat 30’
Sun -
Mon 1h
Tue 30’ warm-up + 3 x 400m at 60’, 59’, 60’, rec. 1’, 3 x 300m at 40’, 40’, 40’, rec. 1’, 2’ rec. in-between
Wed 42’ / Travel to Brussels
Thu 30’
Fri Brussels: 30’ warm-up + 5,000m at 12:39.74 (World Record)

PAUL TERGAT: QUALITY AND QUANTITY

The first man who ran the marathon under 2:05 hours: 2:04:55 in 2003. He was winning five
consecutive World Cross Country Championships and broke various World Records on the track and
on the road. Indeed, he was the first man who was able to break the 10,000m World Record and the
Marathon World Record, after the Finn Kolehmainen in the nineteen twenties. Tergat sometimes used
to cover up to 260 or 270 kilometers in a week.
Mon: 30’ warm-up + 12 x 1,000m (2’45’’), rec. 1’30’’ / 1h
Tue: 1h10’ / 1h
Wed: 38 km
Thu: 1h10’ / 1h
Fri: 40’ warm-up + 20 x 1’ fast, 1’ slow / 1h
Sat: 1h10’ / 1h
Sun: 1h10’ / 1h
Before his core marathon training which lasts 13 weeks, he is doing some gym sessions for regaining
strength. Tergat is running quite a lot on hilly grounds. The morning session is always between
medium and fast, the one in the afternoon between slow and medium; the long run starts slow and
ends fast.
SAIF SAEED SHAHEEN: THE KEY WORD IS “PROGRESSIVE”
The former Kenyan Stephen Cherono changed citizenship to Qatar in 2003 but still lives and trains in
Kenya. He is the World champion at 3000m steeplechase and the World Record holder (7:53.63 in
2004) and World junior Record holder (7:58.66 in 2001). His coach: Renato Canova from Italy. His key
points: uphill sprints, speed variations and progressive speed, even for the track workouts.

Typical 10 days in winter training

Mon 50’ moderate / 30’ + 10 x 400m climbing, rec. 3’
Tue 1h20’ (30’ progressive + 30’ fartlek 1’ fast, 1’ slow + 20’ moderate)
Wed 1h / 1h
Thu 30’ + 10 x 800m (400m climbing to the track + 400m on the track with the lap on the track at 64.0’’), rec.
45’’ / 40’ easy
Fri 1h20’ moderate / 40’ + 6 x 40’’ skipping
Sat 30’ easy + 10 km hard / 40’
Sun -
Mon 1h10’ progressive (last 20’ fast) / 40’ + 15 x 80m sprint climbing
Tue Track: 3 sets of 3000m at 8’45’’ + 400m at 59.0’’, rec. 2’, 4’-5’ rec. in-between

6. CONCLUSION
Hard training, influenced by European know-how, life in a natural environment with an
ideal climate, determination, self-belief and a very competitive situation are the main
reasons for the Kenyan success.

Nairobi, October 2009/jwi.