Community Corner
Poll: Are East Africans the Superior Race as Marathon Runners?
Boston looms Monday; book called "Taboo" once broached the subject of racial advantages.
Runners from all over the world—including hundreds from San Diego County (search here)—will cover 26.2 miles Monday morning in the 116th edition of the Boston Marathon. The elite fields are mainly Kenyans and Ethiopians.
The chances are great that men and women with East African roots will win the race. Again.
Some ask: Why the dominance?
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A dozen years ago, Jon Entine tried to answer in his book Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We're Afraid to Talk About It. Cultural factors are often given for East African dominance in distance running. But Entine posits racial ones as well. Are white runners doomed forever to take a back seat at Boston?
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