Kenyans now on a higher level by some distance

ATHLETICS:THESE ARE strange and confusing days for the distance runner, the likes of which we have never known, or even feared.

Imagine for a moment a sporting event where one country achieved such global domination, repeatedly raising the standards and, it seems, the limits of human endurance, that the rest of the world was effectively reduced to being mere spectators.

You might suspect one of two things: a systematic doping programme, and/or some hideous corruption, on a scale far beyond some stupidly naive Pakistani bowler.

But this still wouldn’t explain why of all the certainties that now come with a big city marathon – the bloody blisters, stinging chafing, etc – the most certain thing of all is that the winner will be from Kenya. This is hardly a new phenomenon, I know, and yet if 2011 is anything to go by, the marathon contest between Kenya and the rest of the world is essentially over – possibly forever.

Consider this: Kenyans have so far won every major marathon in 2011. No exceptions. These include Boston, London, Paris, Rotterdam, Berlin, Chicago, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt, ALL won in course records, and then Dublin last Monday, when Geoffrey Ndungu ran a course record of 2:08:33. Kenyans also went 1-2 at the World Championships in Daegu, and 1-2-AND-3 in the women’s race – and tomorrow, in New York, are expected to win the last of the marathon majors, given the race includes Geoffrey and Emmanuel Mutai, who this year won Boston and London, respectively.

On the IAAF ranking list for 2011, Kenyans currently boast the 19 fastest marathon times – Brazil’s Marilson dos Santos is at number 20. At the start of the year the world record was held by an Ethiopian, Haile Gebrselassie’s 2:03:59, but four Kenyans have now run quicker than that in 2011, and while two were labelled “gradient-aided”, the official world record now belongs to Patrick Makau, with his 2:03:38, in Berlin. On Monday Kenya choose their three runners for the London Olympic marathon, and what an enviable decision that is: they have ten sub-2:06 men this year alone. They don’t include defending Olympic champion Sammy Wanjiru who sadly killed himself this year.

The incredible surge in depth and quality of Kenya’s marathon performances comes at a time when the rest of the world is apparently slowing down, including the Ethiopians, their once near rivals. And it’s not just in the marathon: Kenya, by my calculations, won 38 gold medals in athletics this year, between the World Championships, the World Cross Country, and the World Youth Championships – and that actually puts them well ahead of the Russians and the Americans.

We still have a LOT of catching up to do. Seán Connolly was the first Irish man home in Dublin last Monday, yet was over 10 minutes behind Ndungu – admitting the disappointment with his time of 2:18.52. Connolly trained very hard for Dublin, clocking over 120 miles per week for most of the summer, and his only reward on Monday was a cheque for €3,000, as first Irish finisher, before he caught an evening flight back to Manchester, where he’s currently completing his teacher-training degree.

Linda Byrne achieved what she set out to do by securing the qualifying time for London, dipping under the required 2:37:00 with her debut 2:36:21. That’s worth celebrating. But there is ample room for improvement, especially if she’s ever to come near Catherina McKiernan’s Irish record of 2:22:23. The 2:13:55 Mark Kenneally ran in Amsterdam last month, also an A-standard for London – and the fastest Irish marathon since 2002 – also offers some hope, although again, there’s still a great divide between that and what the Kenyans are running.

Kenneally did his best to train like a Kenyan, including sleeping in a portable altitude tent. Indeed of all the so-called natural advantages that the Kenyans are afforded, including genetics, diet, and actual motivations for success, the altitude factor is no longer the most telling. The majority of Kenyans still live and train around the Great Rift Valley, at altitudes of 8,000-feet – but similar altitudes can now be found as close to home as the University of Limerick.

They are completely converting one of the eight-bedroom student apartments, in the Kilmurry Village, into Ireland’s first High Altitude Residential Centre. This involves sealing all the doors and windows, and using one of the bedrooms to house a giant generator – where a sort of specialised air-conditioning unit will essentially control the amount of oxygen being circulated.

It’s an impressive set-up, although still needs to clear some insurance issues, etc, before becoming operational, ideally before the end of the year. Once completed it will allow Irish athletes to effectively live in the Kenyan mountains, while training at Irish altitudes – or “live high, train low”. The other big advantage of the High Altitude Residential Centre is that the oxygen levels in each room can be adjusted, right up to 15,000-feet, or the equivalent to sleeping on top of Mont Blanc.

Air is about 20 per cent oxygen, and the rest mostly nitrogen. The Limerick facility will slightly adjust those percentages, completely safely. Ultimately it could develop into a serious training aid not just Irish runners, but swimmers, cyclists or any endurance-based athlete. Chris Jones, performance director for Triathlon Ireland, now works with a group of Irish athletes including Fionnuala Britton and Mary Cullen, and he’s already booked them into Limerick, once the apartment is ready.

“Altitude training definitely has its advantages,” says Jones, “and the advantage of an altitude house is it can be quite cost effective, at times, as it doesn’t require travelling long distances.

“Having said all that, there is still some debate as to whether the artificial hypoxic environment, such as a house, or a tent, or a chamber, will give you the same stimulant as living full-time at altitude. There is definitely a benefit to the buffering ability of the blood, so that the athlete is able to tolerate higher levels of lactate production. But unless you have all the right research and back-up there’s always a little bit of guesswork, as to the exact amount of time you need to spend in there.”

One way of testing it might be to bring over a few Kenyans, put them in a room where there’s MORE oxygen, and see if that slows them down: otherwise it’s hard to see how the rest of the world is ever going to catch up.