Running with the Kenyans: Passion, Adventure, and the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 16, 2013 Andrea rated it really liked it

Shelves: kenya

Adharanand Finn, a casual runner who "might have been really good" and also a writer for Runner's World magazine, sets out to realize the dream of many runners, visit what one journalist has called "The Halls of the Mountain Kings," the town on the edge of the Rift Valley that is the epicenter of the Kenyan running explosion. Over the past 15 years, Kenyans from one particular ethnic group, the Kalenjin, have nearly completely dominated distance running from the 10K to the marathon. Their domina Adharanand Finn, a casual runner who "might have been really good" and also a writer for Runner's World magazine, sets out to realize the dream of many runners, visit what one journalist has called "The Halls of the Mountain Kings," the town on the edge of the Rift Valley that is the epicenter of the Kenyan running explosion. Over the past 15 years, Kenyans from one particular ethnic group, the Kalenjin, have nearly completely dominated distance running from the 10K to the marathon. Their dominance, challenged only by their geographic neighbors from Ethiopia, has become so overwhelming that some major marathons have offered considerable incentives to encourage runners from other countries to try to break the hold of Kenyans over top places.

Finn is able to live and run in Iten, Kenya, the county seat town where many of the best runners train at a variety of training camps. His goal is to discover the "secret" of Kenyan running success. As the spouse of a Kalenjin former runner for the past 30 years, I have lived and worked within the culture and was prepared to dislike this book, as so many brief visits by "running investigators" have led to vacuous descriptions of children running six miles to school, uphill both ways no doubt(ever wonder why they never build the schools near anybody's house? yeah, I'm being sarcastic) and the possibility that the running culture comes from the Kalenjin's history as cattle raiders or their habit of drinking soured milk. However, Finn's book is actually well-written, entertaining, and inspiring. Finn is culturally sensitive to realize that he is missing things socially, and this sensitivity and humble attitude is disarming. He also puts a serious effort into his running, but is realistic about his own goals and puts the focus on the dual theme of his own struggles as a runner and the stories of the Kenyans he meets and trains with. I don't think he's right to so completely dismiss the possibility of some as-yet unidentified genetic factor in Kenyan success, but that's really not the point of the book. It's a great read that I would recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in running or in Kenya. ...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Kristen Iworsky rated it really liked it

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Finn is a great writer, and many times I got a good chuckle out of his experiences in a country very different from England/U.S.

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