East African running dominance: what is behind it?

Hamilton, Bruce K.

doi:10.1136/bjsm.34.5.391

Cited by 57 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Other factors such as ethnicity and nationality could also influence endurance performance such as marathon running (Hamilton, 2000;Larsen, 2003;Onywera, 2009;Onywera, Scott, Boit, & Pitsiladis, 2006;Scott & Pitsiladis, 2007;Scott et al, 2003;Wilber & Pitsiladis, 2012). Since the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Kenyan and Ethiopian runners have dominated the international middleand long-distance running (Wilber & Pitsiladis, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participation and performance trends in 100-km ultra-marathons worldwide

Cejka

Rüst

Lepers

et al. 2013

Journal of Sports Sciences

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The aims of the present study were to (1) investigate the participation trends for the origin of athletes competing in 100-km ultra-marathons and (2) determine the nationalities of athletes achieving the fastest 100-km race times worldwide. Race times and nationality from 112,283 athletes (15,204 women and 97,079 men) from 102 countries who completed a 100-km ultra-marathon worldwide between 1998 and 2011 were investigated using single-and multi-level regression analyses. The number of finishers increased exponentially, both for women and men. Most of the finishers (73.5%) were from Europe, in particular, France (30.4%). The number of finishers from Japan, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United States of America increased exponentially during the studied period. For women, runners from Canada became slower while those from Italy became faster over time. For men, runners from Belgium, Canada and Japan became slower. Between 1998 and 2011, the ten best race times were achieved by Japanese runners for both women with 457.1 (s = 28.8) min and men with 393.4 (s = 9.6) min. To summarise, most of the finishers in 100-km ultra-marathons originated from Europe, but the best performances belong to Japanese runners. Although East African runners dominate running up to a marathon, Japanese were the best in 100 km.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Participation and performance trends in 100-km ultra-marathons worldwide

Cejka

Rüst

Lepers

et al. 2013

Journal of Sports Sciences

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“…Explanations have included genetic endowment (11), favorable environmental conditions (17,21) and unique dietary intake (13). There is much evidence in the literature regarding the advantages of optimal nutrition in endurance events.…”

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confidence: 99%

Food and Macronutrient Intake of Elite Kenyan Distance Runners

Onywera

Kiplamai

Tuitoek

et al. 2004

International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism

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The food and macronutrient intake of elite Kenyan runners was compared to recommendations for endurance athletes. Estimated energy intake (EI: 2987 ± 293 kcal; mean ± standard deviation) was lower than energy expenditure (EE: 3605 ± 119 kcal; P < 0.001) and body mass (BM: 58.9 ± 2.7 kg vs. 58.3 ± 2.6 kg; P < 0.001) was reduced over the 7-d intense training period. Diet was high in carbohydrate (76.5%, 10.4 g/kg BM per day) and low in fat (13.4%). Protein intake (10.1%; 1.3 g/kg BM per day) matched recommendations for protein intake. Fluid intake was modest and mainly in the form of water (1113 ± 269 mL; 0.34 ± 0.16 mL/kcal) and tea (1243 ± 348 mL). Although the diet met most recommendations for endurance athletes for macronutrient intake, it remains to be determined if modifying energy balance and fluid intake will enhance the performance of elite Kenyan runners.

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“…Recent findings assumed that the length of an ultra-marathon may influence the nationality of the fastest runners and nationality might have a substantial role in running performance. For example, East African runners dominated in distance running up to the marathon distance (Hamilton, 2000;Larsen, 2003;Onywera et al, 2006). However, in ultramarathons such as the 'Swiss Alpine Marathon', East African runners seemed to be in an inferior position (Harm et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%