African Dominance of Running

This past Monday, one of the most prestigious races in all of running, the Boston marathon, took place. Each year, thousands of runners toe the starting line to run 26.2 miles through Boston. Not just anyone can sign up for this marathon, as runners must hit a qualifying standard to enter. The Boston marathon attracts many of the world's top marathoners. It was no surprise to me that Kenyan runners once again won both the men's and women's races 

(http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/results-commentary/2012-mens-story.aspx).
This is not unusual. In fact, East African runners currently hold 37 of the top 50 marathon times ever ran (Coghlan, Endurance Running, p. 3). 
 A couple of months ago, I wrote a paper for science class discussing this East African dominance of distance running. I read various research on the issue. Results of research were inconclusive, as some research showed genetic differences that contribute to their dominance, and other research shows that cultural differences are the biggest factor in their great performances. In this blog entry, I would like to discuss a recent issue in both college running, and high school running, involving this issue. 

   Edward Cheserek, a high school junior from New Jersey, dominated the high school running scene this past fall, easily winning the national championship (http://nj.milesplit.com/athletes/1746332-edward-cheserek). He rewrote record books at every course he ran on throughout the year. Only a junior, he is on course to become the best prep runner in all of U.S. history. Except, he is not an American. Cheserek was born and raised in Kenya, and attends a preparatory school here in New Jersey ( http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=ken/athcode=263865/index.html).  Many people have questioned his age. Cheserek certainly looks a lot older than most other high school runners he competes against. Birthdays are not always accurately recorded in poorer countries such as Kenya, so even Cheserek himself may not know his actual birthday. This raises a debate: should a non-citizen who may be in their twenties be allowed to dominate high school running here in America?

Some people think that Cheserek has an unfair advantage if he is over the high school age. I would agree. However, if Cheserek is in fact older than high school age, he himself is most likely not even aware of it. Should he be punished for being a student from a poor area who was able to travel to America, succeed, and make a name for himself?

Issues such as this have also occurred in college running as of recent. This past fall, Lawi Lalang, a native African, won the NCAA cross country championships by a large margin (http://www.arizonawildcats.com/sports/m-track/mtt/lalang_lawi00.html). This is nothing new; Sammy Chelenga, another African, won it the year before. However, Lawi Lalang is dominating college running as only a freshman. East African dominance in women's high school and college running has not been quite as prevalent, but there are many East African women who have found success in U.S. colleges, as well.

There are certainly drawbacks to East Africans dominating running here in the United States. If in fact they are proven to have a genetic advantage when it comes to distance running, then it may not be fair for college coaches here in the United States to recruit only East African runners. This takes away scholarship opportunities for hardworking American runners who would love the chance to run on a college team. Some critics have suggested limiting foreign athletes on college teams.

However, if you look at the big picture, East African dominance here in America could be a good thing. We live in a world that is becoming more and more globalized by the day. No longer are graduates competing against only local people in job searches; they are competing against people from all over the world. Why should this be any different when it comes to sports? In business, competition leads to better products and more innovations. More competition in sports leads to better performances. This is why records in track and field have continued to improve over the years. Having to compete against successful runners from all over the world will only serve to strengthen native born American runners. In recent years, American runners have been overshadowed on the national scene by East Africans. Perhaps intense competition against foreign athletes starting in high school and college athletics will help Americans to once again gain a prominent standing on the world scene.