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Following is an introductory piece to explain what the column
will be doing over the next couple of months.
You see them at almost every race. From local American road
races to Europe's prestigious Golden
League events, they need only show up to be named pre-race
favorites. Much has been said about their dominance, yet even
now most of the talk about them and their success seems to
be speculative - someone who heard from someone who read something
somewhere… Who are they?
They are, if you haven't already guessed, The Kenyans, and
for many of them running is their one and only shot at economic
security. Much is known about how Kenyans perform in racing
- they usually win. Much space has also been dedicated to
writing and speculating about their training methods.
What has been largely ignored, however, is the human element
of Kenyan athletics - the athletes.
What do they do between races?
What truly motivates the individual athletes to compete?
What is the culture shock really like for a young athletes
who one day are living in a rural village in Africa and the
next find themselves in Europe, the United States, or Japan
trying to compete at the highest levels while absorbing new
foods, languages, and cultures.
In a Time-to-Run exclusive,
correspondent, Jay
Bawcom, takes us inside the daily lives of the athletes
of Elite Sports Management International, an athlete management
group based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. Jay is living
with the athletes, observing and interacting in their daily
lives, and in the coming weeks he will bring us up-close and
personal with the true experiences. From trips to the supermarket,
to travel to races, to simply killing the hours between training
sessions, we invite you to join us as we get to know the people
behind the victories - the athletes themselves.
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