This is an article of Magyar Edzők Társasága (Hungarian Coaching Association)

Hard training, influenced by European know-how, life in a natural environment with an ideal climate, determination, self-belief and a very competitive situation are the main reasons for the Kenyan success.

THE ITALIAN FACTOR

It was an Italian who taught Kenyans how to run a marathon. Before “Dottore” Gabriele Rosa started to coach runners in the East African country, the Kenyan marathon runners hardly existed. In 1990, there were only three Kenyans among the 100 fastest marathon runners in the world. 18 years later there were 65! It was “Doctor”, as he is called respectfully, who transformed Kenya into the leading country of marathon runners. His athletes were and are, among many others: Moses Tanui, Paul Tergat, Robert Cheruiyot and Martin Lel. Rosa changed the training philosophy and the attitude. Before he started working with Kenyans they thought a marathon runner has to run three or four hours in a slow pace. He changed the training completely to include more quality, individuality and purpose. And he built several training camps in the country.

GABRIELE ROSA’S KEY POINTS

It is pointless to go for a three-week high altitude training once a year. High-altitude training makes sense only if you stay there for a longer period or several times a year. On the other hand, there is no doubt that endurance athletes can benefit from the high altitude where you increase the red blood cells that are vital for oxygen transport. Many world-class athletes decided to stay at places like Boulder, Colorado where the altitude is equivalent with the Kenyan highlands. The body adapts after some time, meaning it has more hemoglobin at its disposal and therefore a better oxygen uptake.

I believe that running in a hilly area is very important for the leg strength of a marathon runner. The other thing is the mileage. Quality is more important than quantity. Even top marathon runners don’t need to run more then 230 or 240 kilometers a week but they have to go on a regular basis for long runs over 30, 35 and in the third week even 38 kilometers. I believe in “progressive training speed”.

Our marathon training takes three months. The intensity of the training rises more and more every week until the last two weeks when the workload is reduced drastically.

Probably the most important advice for a long distance runner who wants to move up to the marathon: Be patient, it takes years. When you run the 10,000 meters, your body is consuming a lot of four-star fuel. In the marathon, a completely different biochemistry takes place.

For the last two or three years Rosa withdrew more and more from the daily business on-side. The one who took over the coaching job for Rosassociati is Claudio Berardelli. He is not even 30 and yet already regarded as one of the most successful middle and long distance coaches in the world. Claudio Berardelli led Alfred Kirwa Yego and Janeth Jepkosgei to World Championship titles in 2007 and Nancy Lagat to Olympic victory. He is also coach to some of the best marathoners, namely Martin Lel, Robert Cheruiyot, Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai.

Berardelli admits that he owes a lot to Doctor Rosa, especially the training philosophy and the approach. Berardelli recalls: “Doctor Rosa always told me I should remember that these guys need to run. They don’t need to know what the various training sessions are for. You are the coach, they are the athletes.” Claudio Berardelli’s athletes run a high percentage of high intensity. When his middle distance runners prepare for the season, they are on the track four or five times a week but they don’t push all the time. Alfred Yego can run 3x400m in 49, 48 and 49 seconds with 10 minutes recovery or 1000 meters in 2:25 min, followed by 800 meters in 1:52 min and 600 meters in 1:22 min with 8 min recovery. In addition to this there is a slow run of 50 to 55 minutes every day. The last three weeks before the Championships the volume of the track training is reduced by half, but the intensity remains high.

When Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai ran 2:04:27 hours in Rotterdam in April they made headlines also because of their training. In fact, both did only between 130 and 140 kilometers a week. Berardelli wanted them to run twice a day like all the other marathoners but they always came up with an excuse. Finally, he told them instead of quarrelling all the time, they should focus on the more important morning training and forget about the other one. It worked out. According to the young Italian coach, there are in fact new studies showing that even intensive training can help improving the endurance. Nevertheless, he says, he doesn’t want to go that far and say that all the marathon runners should reduce their training volume. Martin Lel reaches 180 or 190 kilometers a week, Robert Cheruiyot is somewhere in between Duncan Kibet and Martin Lel.

CLAUDIO BERARDELLI’S KEY POINTS

365 days a year, my mind is around the athletes and the job. I am with them on a daily basis and I try to understand their individual needs and differences. I knew when I wanted to be successful, I needed to spend a lot of time in Kenya and be around the athletes. Now I am living eight or nine months a year in the country. (Remark: The fact that Janeth Jepkosgei is his girlfriend makes it undoubtedly easier for him.)

There are some coaches out there who write programmes on papers and give them to the athletes. These programmes are often too complicated. If the athlete is not mentally connected, he will not do the training at his maximum. Europeans often want to be managers, coaches and athletes at the same time – and they get disturbed and are not able to focus on the training anymore. The Kenyan approach is sometimes maybe a little bit simple but it can push them to new limits.

I don’t know any Kenyan marathon runner who does 250 kilometers a week. In the course of the years I have learned one thing: When it comes to the Kenyans there is a big difference between what they are telling you and what they really do in their training.

At the moment I might be the most successful coach but it doesn’t mean I am the best. Maybe the best coach doesn’t have the most talented athletes to work with. What I can claim for myself: I have been able to manage these top athletes and I am able to create the best situation for each of them.

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INDIVIDUAL TRAINING PROGRAMMES

TEGLA LOROUPE: POWERS OF RECOVERY

Tegla Loroupe was three-time World Half-marathon Champion in 1997, 1998 and 1999, and she broke two Marathon World Records in 1998 and 1999. Her coach and manager, Volker Wagner, a German, admits, what made her different from others was her power of recovery after a race or a track workout. For example, when she did the 1,000 meters 20 times at 3’15’’ the recovery in-between was not more than 25 seconds.

14 days in March 1999

Mon 1h easy / 1 h easy

Tue 45’ easy / warm-up + 15 x 1,000m at 3’15’’-3’20’’, rec. 30’’

Wed 1h easy / 1h medium

Thu Warm-up + 10 x 1.8km with 400m hill

Fri 1h easy / 1h medium

Sat 1h30’ medium

Sun 2 h (30’ easy, 60’ fast, 30’ easy)

Mon 1h15’ (30’ easy, 45’ fast) / 1 h easy

Tue 45’ easy / warm-up + 8 x 2,000m at 6’40’’ to 6’20’’, rec. 30’’-45’’

Wed 1h45’ (easy-medium)

Thu 1h easy / 1h medium

Fri Travel to Lisbon / 45’ easy

Sat 45’ easy

Sun Half-marathon Lisbon (1. 67:53 min)

LORNAH KIPLAGAT: THE WHOLE YEAR STRENGTH TRAINING

World Records and Bests at Half-marathon (66:25 min), 10 miles (50:50 min) and 20 km (62:57 min). World Champion Half-marathon 2007 and 2008, Cross-country 2007. After getting married to Pieter Langerhorst in 2003, she is running for Netherlands but still spends a lot of her time in her native Kenya.

Marathon training (training in Netherlands)

Mon 1h easy / 45’ easy

Tue 1h easy / 10 x 1,000m at 3’20’’, rec. 90’’

Wed 1h45’ easy-medium

Thu 1h fartlek (1’ fast, 1’ slow) / 1h easy

Fri 1h easy / 1h easy

Sat 1h30’ easy

Sun 2h30’ progressive* (beginning with 12 km/h, at the end 18 km/h)

* Before a half-marathon the long run is 1h45’

The whole year, Lornah is doing strength training in the gym 3-4 x a week, except for the last 3 days before a race.

CATHERINE NDEREBA: DETERMINATION AND FIGHTING SPIRIT

Catherine Ndereba is the most successful marathon runner of the last 10 years. She broke the World Record in 2001 and since 2001 won five medals at major championships: Gold at the World Championships 2003 and 2007, Silver at the World Championships 2005, Silver at the Olympic Games 2004 and 2008. Lives in Nairobi and Norristown (Pennsylvania), coached by El-Mostafa Nechchadi.

Two weeks before the Olympic Marathon in Bejing

Mon 1h15’ easy-medium / 50’ easy

Tue Warm-up + 7 x 2,000m at 6’19’’-6’20’’, rec. 3’ / 60’ easy

Wed 1h15’ “Power Run” (75% of the 10km race pace)

Thu Warm-up + 20 x 400m at 68’, rec. 1’30’’ / 60’ easy

Fri 1h15’ “Power Run” (75% of the 10km race pace)

Sat 60’ marathon pace

Sun -

DANIEL KOMEN: A LOT OF TALENT

He broke his first World Record when he was only 19 years old. All together: 8 World Records between 1995 and 1998. At the end of 2009, Komen is still the record holder at 3,000m (7:20.67 in 1996), 2 Miles (7:58.61 in 1997) and 3,000m Indoor (7:24.90 in 1998). He was World Champion at 5,000m in 1997. He is probably the most talented Kenyan runner of all time.

Training ahead of the World Record at 5,000m in 1997

Sun World Championships: 1. 5,000m

Mon 30’ / Travel from Athens to Zurich

Tue 30’

Wed Zurich: 30’ warm-up + 5,000m at 12:44.90 (2., Gebrselassie WR)

Thu 30’ / Travel to London

Fri 30’

Sat 30’

Sun -

Mon 1h

Tue 30’ warm-up + 3 x 400m at 60’, 59’, 60’, rec. 1’, 3 x 300m at 40’, 40’, 40’, rec. 1’, 2’ rec. in-between

Wed 42’ / Travel to Brussels

Thu 30’

Fri Brussels: 30’ warm-up + 5,000m at 12:39.74 (World Record)

PAUL TERGAT: QUALITY AND QUANTITY

The first man who ran the marathon under 2:05 hours: 2:04:55 in 2003. He was winning five consecutive World Cross Country Championships and broke various World Records on the track and on the road. Indeed, he was the first man who was able to break the 10,000m World Record and the Marathon World Record, after the Finn Kolehmainen in the nineteen twenties. Tergat sometimes used to cover up to 260 or 270 kilometers in a week.

Mon: 30’ warm-up + 12 x 1,000m (2’45’’), rec. 1’30’’ / 1h

Tue: 1h10’ / 1h

Wed: 38 km

Thu: 1h10’ / 1h

Fri: 40’ warm-up + 20 x 1’ fast, 1’ slow / 1h

Sat: 1h10’ / 1h

Sun: 1h10’ / 1h

Before his core marathon training which lasts 13 weeks, he is doing some gym sessions for regaining strength. Tergat is running quite a lot on hilly grounds. The morning session is always between medium and fast, the one in the afternoon between slow and medium; the long run starts slow and ends fast.

SAIF SAEED SHAHEEN: THE KEY WORD IS “PROGRESSIVE”

The former Kenyan Stephen Cherono changed citizenship to Qatar in 2003 but still lives and trains in Kenya. He is the World champion at 3000m steeplechase and the World Record holder (7:53.63 in 2004) and World junior Record holder (7:58.66 in 2001). His coach: Renato Canova from Italy. His key points: uphill sprints, speed variations and progressive speed, even for the track workouts.

Typical 10 days in winter training

Mon 50’ moderate / 30’ + 10 x 400m climbing, rec. 3’

Tue 1h20’ (30’ progressive + 30’ fartlek 1’ fast, 1’ slow + 20’ moderate)

Wed 1h / 1h

Thu 30’ + 10 x 800m (400m climbing to the track + 400m on the track with the lap on the track at 64.0’’), rec. 45’’ / 40’ easy

Fri 1h20’ moderate / 40’ + 6 x 40’’ skipping

Sat 30’ easy + 10 km hard / 40’

Sun -

Mon 1h10’ progressive (last 20’ fast) / 40’ + 15 x 80m sprint climbing

Tue Track: 3 sets of 3000m at 8’45’’ + 400m at 59.0’’, rec. 2’, 4’-5’ rec. in-between

Nairobi, October 2009/jwi