The topic of whether strength, speed, and endurance depend on race has been a hot controversy for many years. There are many sides to this argument, and though no side has been proven to be correct, both bring solid points in defending their beliefs. The attention and interesting points this argument brings is why I chose to research a topic that dealt with running.
I found my topic when I was sitting in my critical thinking class listening to an NPR talk show about why Kenyan runners were such great runners; they have a distinct way of growing up, eating, and living. Kenyans upbringings differ from other nationalities in so many ways. One of the reasons why Kenyans are such amazing runners is their diet. Matt Fitzgerald decided to try their diet out to see the difference in how his body would react to the food. During his visit, he ran a marathon and finished 17th overall and first in non-Kenyan runners. Fitzgerald also stated that his body was not as fatigued as it
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Genetics show that Kenyans body types are all “bird like” allowing them to be better runners. They then create new physical traits by running in thin air climates to make them breathe better in different environments. Scientists have yet to find that one gene that all Kenyans have that makes them unique, but they do know that most of the gold medalist from Kenya come from the same tribe. The article states that a “Kalenjin could outrun 90% of the global population,” note that these are high schoolers beating professionals. Researchers compared three Kalenjin boys to a Danish professional runner. The results were incredible because all three boys left him in the dust. They have came to the conclusion that these boys had a genetic advantage. To this day scientist are still doing studies and trying to pin-point exactly what makes a Kenyan runner so great.
Research into the relationship between physiological variables and running performance has been variable. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between 5k running performance and a number of physiological variables in a group of 11 trained club runners (Age 21.451.63yrs, Height 175.092.77cm, Weight 67.865.12kg). The athletes underwent a laboratory treadmill test to determine their maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and running velocities at lactate threshold (v-Tlac) and blood lactate concentration of 4mM (v-OBLA). Running performance was determined by a 5k time-trial on an athletics
Runners need high level of nutrition. This nutrition must be able to fill a runner's need for energy, body development and metabolism. What differentiates amateur and professional runners is their nutrition and food intake. So, if you want to compete, adapt your diet to your physical and exercise needs.
Their determination, a great athlete will have to work their hardest. Depending on the sport they will need the strength, speed, and stamina to run longer than anyone
Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle, when the sun comes up you’d better be running. ~Author Unknown. Running is something that most people you talk to are against, and for seemingly good reason! Running is tiring, tough work that most people just don’t care to do, period. But running can slow the effects of aging, help you to relax and smile, sleep better and feel more energized, and help you fight off various diseases and other unhealthy conditions. And I'm really glad that I get the opportunity to
Mental agility is important than physical strength in sports. I picked mental agility cause if they did the touchdown, the Jets are making time go down fast, cause of the celebration. Also of how many replays are being played. An example is of why a touchdown is not good,” There is a few situations in football where scoring an easy touchdown is the wrong thing to do’’. Also you can use mental agility to see and to think of what to do.
Sports hold a special place in the hearts of many Americans all across the United States; however, there appears a lesser known and different side to sports. Many people discriminate against the African American race. They blame their own inabilities to perform in sports due to the African American race simply performing “better.” In a 1990 study conducted by the Copenhagen Muscle Research Center, the average Kenyan teenager could outrun approximately ninety percent of the global population. These claims and studies spark the curiosity of many. Why do they seem better? What causes these claims to occur? The acquisitions that the African American race has a clear advantage may actually have some truth. The authors who research the topic in question
Another piece of text supports that “ A race is like a work of art” paragraph 12. It presents how we can enjoy our running with our minds and our bodies. Our minds are engaged with our bodies, they work in unity and one can’t be more valuable than the other. The author emphasizes that “ I get choked up when I see a kid, or anyone else fight hopeless odds… with a dream in the heart, a gleam in the eye, and a goal in mind” paragraph 14. This is a significant piece of text that the author expressed that completing a race is not necessarily just about having a fit body but it’s about reflecting mental courage to fight for
Often times this success in sports is attributed to another gene or attribute that gives African-Americans an athletic advantage in competition. According to Kerr (2010) the reason why there is no record of the athleticism of people of African descent is that lack of coverage in the home continent of Africa (p. 24)
Olympic athletes try to break out humanity’s limit. For example, sprint racers train themselves to run faster and faster. Only a few
Running has many different aspects of workouts and forms of doing it. Comparisons a lot of people make is that cross country and track are the same thing, but those two sports are entirely different. Both do deal with running, but the differences are very major and they go much as to change the workouts done for the sports. More comparisons that are mostly said that if a runner enjoys long distance running then they also should go out for track since it has long distance events. Even though it has those events it doesn’t change the fact the two are very different.
Runners should eat mainly carbs because they are the main fuel, and is the first thing that is burned during a run. There are two types of carbs: simple carbs, which give you quick shots of energy, and complex carbs, which gives you a steady amount of energy for a long period of time. Fruit and candy are examples of simple carbs, and bread and grains are examples of complex carbs. If runners do not eat enough carbs, they will run out of energy when they run, and eventually hit the “wall,” a period in runner where the runner has no energy. Although everyone should have carbs, runners should have more carbs in their diet than non-runners because they need more energy. Protein is important because it rebuilds and repairs muscles. Good proteins
Also black people have low body fat that also can be helpful for them in running. According to Sailor article “Muscle and tendon physiology also contribute to black “athleticism.” It is well publicized that blacks have a higher percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers and higher levels of glycotic and phosphogenic enzyme activity levels, when diet and activity levels are controlled for, which would provide an advantage in explosive, short-duration muscular exertions.“ Black people have short bellies as well; this is a great help for them for running. Since the muscles can be stretched and store energy that can be this energy can be retransferred during running that will cause them lose less energy. These are some physiological reasons that black people can do better in sports. Due to these biological advances they got with time, because of their genetic material that has been changed in evolution, they can do better in sport competitions in specific fields of sport compare to other races. However they do poor in some other sports such as swimming because of these differences as
It is known that the diet of an athlete can have an effect on his/her overall performance(Bronci; 2011).Athletes, who have healthy and balanced diets, can perform better due to having adequate nutrient stores built up in their
Could you imagine a tiny woman, 5'1'' and 88 pounds, holding the women’s world record for 20000 meters, 25000 meters, 30000 meters, and 26.2 miles? Even though this woman, Tegla Loroupe, does not still hold world record for the marathon, she will always be remembered for her outstanding accomplishments. As a child, she had 24 siblings and her dad had 4 wives. Her talent was first noticed in school races, however her dad banned her from running because it was not ladylike. This did not stop Tegla, and she continued running. Initially, the Kenyan athletics federation were not too impressed with her because she was considered too frail. However, after winning a prestigious cross country race in 1988, this changed. She continued winning more and more races including in 1994, she ran her first major marathon in New
The truth of the matter is that many factors can exists that influence an athlete's race outcome. Training level, experience, health, age, nutrition, mechanical issues or lack of, just to name a few. In my short racing career I have experienced every one of these in at least one race