LESSON 25

UNIT 13 The Kalenjin LESSON 25 Take a look at the records of international running events in the last fifty years. Before 1980, the winners of distance races were usually from North America and Europe. There were some winners from other countries, but there weren't very many of them. There were no African names among the winners then, but things are very different now. Today, the stars of the race track are the Kalenjin. The Kalenjin are an African people from the borders of North West Kenya and Ethiopia. Their homeland is a hot, dry plateau, about 2, 500 metres above sea level. These people are natural athletes. They have long, thin legs. Their heart rate is unusually slow. There are only three million of them.

Twelve of the world's top twenty marathon runners are now Kalenjin. Every year, they win 40 percent of the top honours in all international distance races. And it's not just the men. A few years ago, there weren't any distance races for women. These days, there are lots of them. Kalenjin women win all their events as well.