Bob Marshall, The Times-PicayuneImagine you're a football player taking the field against Florida, or a basketball player going up against Duke or Connecticut, or a major leaguer facing the Yankees.
Now you know how American distance runners feel when they look at an entry sheet and see "Kenya" listed next to "country."
They know when they approach the starting line and see that group of wraith-like Africans who seem to be just skin, bones and running shoes that winning isn't in the cards.
And placing probably isn't, either.
"The thing about the Kenyans is the depth of talent. It's just insane, " said Nate Jenkins, a veteran American road racer who is preparing for The Times-Picayune Crescent City Classic on Saturday. The field that will include at least a dozen Kenyans capable of winning the 10K test.
"There are probably five Americans who can compete with the top five from Kenya on a good day, " Jenkins said. "But the thing is, the 20th guy from Kenya might be just as good as their No. 5 guy. Every race I enter, I know there will be five or six guys from Kenya, and they might even be guys I've never heard anything about, but I know they are going to be tough. There just seems to be no end to the talent."
There's been no end to it at the CCC, where it seems the only way an American runner can win is if Kenyans are banned.
Kenyan men have won the past 12 events and 17 of the 31 events in the Classic's history. They were not allowed to compete for the title in 1995 through 1997 because the race was the United States Championships. Runners from African nations have won 20 of the 28 CCC titles open to them. Kenyan women have been only slightly less dominant, winning 11 of the past 15.
The domination is not reflective of the relative profiles of the two nations.
The United States has a population of 308 million producing the world's largest economy, with an average family income of $50,000, a poverty level of 16 percent and a life expectancy of 74 years for men and 80 for women.
Kenya has 38 million people, 50 percent of whom live in poverty, an annual family income of about $300 and a life expectancy of about 57 for men and 58 for women.
So why does poverty-stricken, malnourished Kenya dominate distance running?
Jenkins said it's the perfect marriage of genetics, economic environment and great work ethic.
A population that has evolved over eons in high altitudes (the average altitude in the country's Western Highlands is more than 6,000 feet) has become efficient at using oxygen, a key to excelling at distance running.
And experience has shown Kenyans that success at running can be a quick route out of poverty for themselves and their families.
"Genetics certainly play a part. There's an aspect to growing up at high altitudes that I think is a real benefit for a runner, especially if he comes from generations that have grown up there, " Jenkins said. "But I think a bigger factor would be the same one for why so many great basketball players in the U.S. come from the inner cities. Basketball is the culture in our inner cities, and running is the culture in Kenya.
"There are really only two sports in Kenya -- soccer and running. Soccer requires resources -- balls, fields, goals -- and most people are too poor to even afford that. But to be a runner, all you need is a pair of shoes, a lot of hard work and talent. And it seems everyone there has those three things, so everybody trains as a runner at some point."
The result is an almost assembly line of new world-class distance runners hitting the American road race circuit every year. And since what they can earn just placing on the circuit is many times more than their entire family will bring home in a year, most Kenyans work at staying competitive well into their 30s. It has produced a backlog that makes the start at the CCC now look like a Kenyan national championship.
Although the sight can be intimidating, Jenkins said it should also serve as a challenge to the American running community.
"It gives us something to aim for, " He said. "Competing against that kind of quality athlete can only makes us better.
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