Learning from the Kenyans

There are few instances in sport where one nation has so consistently produced champion athletes at all levels as Kenya have done. Inevitably, such sustained success leads to questions as to what is at the heart of it.  Key in the words "Kenyan Long Distance Running" into a search engine and you will be faced by tens of articles trying to answer that question.

Adharanand Finn is one of those who have made such an attempt, spending a year in Kenya which he subsequently chronicled in the excellent book Running with Kenyans.

For Finn and for many others those queries are borne of the desire to replicate such success in the field of athletics.  Yet it would be foolhardy to believe that a system that has produced so much talent doesn't have traits that could be replicated by other sports.

And, although what parallels exist aren't always immediately obvious, there is plenty to learn for football.

Read the full discussion with Adhanarand Finn over at Blueprint for Football.