(Photo: left, Carlos Álvarez-Montero right, Courtesy Pegasus Books) In We Share the Sun: The Incredible Journey of Kenya’s Legendary Running Coach Patrick Sang and the Fastest Runners on Earth (Pegasus Books, 2023), sportswriter Sarah Gearhart takes a headlong, behind-the-scenes look into the world of the Kenyan super-elite as she investigates less the physiology or Vo2 max advantages that erupt from this corner of the world, less about the comparative analyses of workout and training architecture, and more about the social ecology found at the Global Sports Communication training camp, in Kaptagat, Kenya, a small rural town at the western edge of the country, inland about 200 miles from Nairobi and an hour’s drive south from Iten. And, for many champions? It’s the coach Patrick Sang. But if there is one common denominator, in one specific location in Kenya, where champions are made, it’s in the Rift Valley of Kenya.
But why? This question has been prodded and churned by many professionals, along many disciplines, and the answer is complicated and multivalent. It’s widely understood that Kenya has produced, is developing, and will continue to develop many of the world’s fastest and most formidable runners on Earth. And Eliud Kipchoge, considered the best marathoner of all time, missed a water station and hiccuped his Boston marathon performance, but remains the greatest runner of our time. Hellen Obiri won the 127th Boston Marathon in one of the most exciting women’s races in history. In April, Kelvin Kiptum clocked the third-fastest marathon in the history of the sport at the London Marathon.
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