Walking Helps Makes Kenyan Champions

Linet Masai walked 10K to school every day.

It’s not necessarily the altitude or some genetic gift that makes Kenyan runners so fast. According to a report posted on the BBC Web site, the simple chore of walking to and from school may be doing the trick.

According to the former sports teacher of elite runners Linet and Moses Masai, Ben Tumwet, the brother-and-sister pair walked 10K to and from Bishop Okiring secondary school in the village of Kamuneru each day.

“Moses and Linet were coming from a far place, they were coming very early in the morning and also going back in the afternoon,” recalls Tumwet. “So they got their running training to and from school.”

Linet Masai grew up to win the 10,000m event at the 2009 World Championships.

But the journey for most Kenyan schoolchildren isn’t all about becoming a world-class runner. Most of them do it, because they take their education seriously.

“I wake up at 4am, prepare some breakfast and then head out. I try to arrive at school by 6am in the morning,” says a 17-year-old named Sammy.

For More: BBC