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The Kenyan runners
Author(s) -
Larsen H. B.,
Sheel A. W.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.12573
Subject(s) - kenya , vo2 max , running economy , medicine , elite , physical therapy , cardiology , biology , heart rate , ecology , blood pressure , politics , political science , law
Today the Kenyan dominance in middle‐ and long‐distance running is so profound that it has no equivalence to any other sport in the world. Critical physiological factors for performance in running include maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2max ), fractional VO 2max utilization and running economy (energetic cost of running). Kenyan and non‐Kenyan elite runners seem to be able to reach very high, but similar maximal oxygen uptake levels just as there is some indication that untrained Kenyans and non‐Kenyans have a similar VO 2max . In addition, the fractional utilization of VO 2max seems to be very high but similar in Kenyan and European runners. Similarly, no differences in the proportion of slow muscle fibers have been observed when comparing Kenyan elite runners with their Caucasian counterparts. In contrast, the oxygen cost of running at a given running velocity has been found to be lower in Kenyan elite runners relative to other elite runners and there is some indication that this is due to differences in body dimensions. Pulmonary system limitations have been observed in Kenyan runners in the form of exercise‐induced arterial hypoxemia, expiratory flow limitation, and high levels of respiratory muscle work. It appears that Kenyan runners do not possess a pulmonary system that confers a physiological advantage. Additional studies on truly elite Kenyan runners are necessary to understand the underlying physiology which permits extraordinary running performances.