Kenyan marathon dominance continues — but the training methodology behind it is finally being studied properly

For decades it was attributed to altitude and vague cultural explanations. New sports-science research is finally isolating the actual variables, and the results are more interesting than the mythology.

Altitude matters, but less than people assume. What shows up consistently across the research is training volume structured around rest in ways that most Western programs don’t replicate, plus an economic incentive structure that starts identifying talent far earlier than anywhere else in the world.

None of this is secret information locally — it’s just never been written up for an international audience in a way that actually holds up to scrutiny.