Have you ever wondered why Kenyans keep on dominating long-distance races on different stages including the just concluded Olympics? Why do they run and don't seem exhausted?
Acclimatization! That's the word for your answers.
Among the many theories of why Kenyans excel at long-distance racing, Acclimatization is one theory that holds. Acclimatization is the process in which an individual organism adjusts to changes in its environment (such as a change in altitude, temperature, humidity, etc.) allowing it to maintain fitness across a range of environmental conditions.
It is known that most of the Kenyan long-distance runners train in a region called the Rift Valley which sits at about 8,000 feet above sea level, that means they train in conditions of reduced atmospheric oxygen pressure because the higher you go, the lower the pressure.
What this means for them is a higher oxygen-carrying capacity of their blood as they have a higher hematocrit value (i.e. an increased percentage of blood constituting RBCs) to compensate for the reduced atmospheric oxygen pressure. So when these athletes come to sea level with a physiologically enhanced oxygen capacity one can tell that they will outperform because they now seem to have enough oxygen stored and will not get easily exhausted.
Acclimatization indeed has a great role to play but it is also true that hard work will beat talent if talent doesn't work hard, and one can't just downplay the many other factors that make these Kenyans a phenomenon to watch besides the training climate. There are other factors such as diet and motivation. Indeed this nation has made running her thing.
Written by Ayebamiebi Yousuo from MEDILOQUY