MUMBAI, MARCH 30: Athletics coaches in India would do well to take note of a research conducted by Frank Horwill, senior coach at the British Athletics Federation (BAF).The findings, published in the Fall 1998 issue of Track Coach, the newsletter of the United States Track and Field Association, unravels the secret behind Kenya's stupendous success in middle-distance running.
India's performances over the middle-distance -- by Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Sunita Rani, Bahadur Prasad and Gulab Chand -- have been heartening in recent times.
But if they have to perform well consistently, and if Sikdar is to achieve her avowed aim, a medal at the Sydney Olympics, Horwill's suggestions deserve a serious thought.
Britain's flagging performances and the rise of the Africans caused Horwill to launch into the study.
For 16 years, between 1981 to 1997, the world record for 800 metres was held by Englishman -- Sebastian Coe. Since then, the Brits have been overshadowed by a Dane with a Kenyan background, WilsonKipteker.
The 1500m mark, which tossed wildly between Britons Steve Owett and Coe, fell to an African, Algerian Noureddine Morceli, six years ago (it is now held by El Guerrouj of Morocco).
Kenya also hold the 3k, 5k and 10k records.
Horwill concluded Kenyan training methods, remarkably different from methods in England (and India), accounted for the success.
Periodisation, for instance. It is a training programme where athletes are groomed for one peak performance in a year, by gradually increasing their workout during the lead-up months. The National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala, which trains coaches in India, swears by periodisation. So do British coaches.
Horwill argues periodisation has failed to produce a truly world-class performer for a long time. ``No top-class runner can afford one peak in a year. It's dead, and should be buried,'' says Horwill.
Horwill says when he spoke to a Kenyan about microcycles, macrocycles and mesocycles (sub-routines of periodisation), the Kenyans thoughtHorwill was talking about new Japanese motorcycles.
OTHER FINDINGS FROM KENYA: Horwill says the observations of physiologists Saltin (Sweden) and Noakes (South Africa), who have studied Kenyan runners in detail, should be posted in every track and field department in universities and training places.
Their conclusions were:
Many Kenyans run at least six miles a day to get to school or home as public transport is not readily available. Endurance is therefore built from a very young age. Thighs of Kenyan runners, as revealed by Saltin's muscle biopsies, contain the greatest amount of aerobic enzyme he has ever seen. This means they can alter pace without tiring easily. The undulating terrain contributed to this condition, felt Saltin. The Kenyan diet -- fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates, little meat -- and faster training gives them a better height/body ratio. A comparison between a Kenyan and a Caucasian athlete, both six feet tall, reveals the former would weigh an average 142pounds (65 kgs) while a Caucasian would measure an average 159 pounds (72 kgs). The latter's extra weight takes its toll in any race beyond a mile.Adille Sumariwalla, a National selector and a former 100m champion, says Horwill's findings are exceptionally relevant.
``Being a sprints coach, I cannot comment on all the points he has raised. But our coaching system still follows periodisation, which is why our athletes do not do well consistently,'' he said.
Sumariwalla said Indian runners may not be pros, like the Europeans, to need multiple peaks, but they run at least seven to eight big races a year these days, compared to the two races athletes used to get till the early '90s. Training programmes targeted at producing one peak performance could be insufficient.
Santosh Verghese, a National Sports Authority of India coach, says he is trying to incorporate some of Horwill's findings into his training programme.
``We cannot blindly adapt any piece of research to Indian conditions. But I must saythis piece by Horwill is one of the best I have read in recent times,'' he said.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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