Why don’t Kenyans run ultramarathons?

East Africans dominate long-distance running up to 26.2 miles – but longer races are almost exclusively white affairs. As ever in top-level sport, money has a lot to answer for

In the world of ultrarunning, one race stands out as the most competitive, the Super Bowl, the London marathon of ultrarunning: it is the Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc.

Since getting involved in ultrarunning a few years ago, I have followed the race online each August. The start is stirring stuff: more than 2,000 athletes gathe...