Distance runners, look to Ethiopia, again.the adage goes, "If you want to be a writer, write." Practice your craft every day, and start early on in life. One might substitute "writer" with anything, with similar results. The notion is the things we do informally--even in play--as children can often become those we master in an adult career. This thinking has long been applied to success in sport. And now a study from the U.K. buttresses the old adage. Researchers compared the demographics The attributes of people in a particular geographic area. Used for marketing purposes, population, ethnic origins, religion, spoken language, income and age range are examples of demographic data. of elite Ethiopian athletes to the general Ethiopian population to examine whether long-held suspicions about upbringing up·bring·ing n. The rearing and training received during childhood. upbringing Noun the education of a person during his or her formative years Noun 1. were true. For years, reports linking running long distances to school with later endurance Endurance See also Longevity. Atalanta feminine name denotes power of endurance. [Gk. Myth.: Jobes, 148] Boston marathon famous 26-mile race held annually for long-distance runners. [Am. Pop. Culture: Misc. success have emerged from this African nation of top talent. To find out whether a certain behavior was being reinforced in a certain region, the study questioned 114 members of the Ethiopian national athletics athletics or track and field also track-and-field games Variety of sport competitions held on a running track and on the adjacent field. It is the oldest form of organized sports, having been a part of the ancient Olympic Games from c. team and 111 Ethiopian controls on their place of birth, language, and distance and method of travel to school. Athletes were placed in either a marathon, 5 to 10K, or track and field category. Marathoners, it turns out, were distributed in different regions from the controls and track and field athletes (but not from the 5 to 10K runners). Some 73% of the marathoners were from Arsi ARSI Association de Recherche en Soins Infirmiers ARSI Amateur Radio Society of India ARSI Atmospheric Research System ARSI Aerospace Research Systems, Inc. ARSI ARPA Reconfigurable Simulator Initiative and Shewa, as compared to 15% of the controls. And 68% of the marathoners ran to school, compared to 24% of the controls. Interestingly, only 16% of track and field athletes ran to school. Five to 10K runners, the next closest to the long distance group, still made up less than half the percentage of marathoners who ran to school. Unlike the other groups, the latter routinely traveled distances over 5K as well. There appears to be a distinct environment in which most elite marathoners are reared within Ethiopia. Genetics genetics, scientific study of the mechanism of heredity. While Gregor Mendel first presented his findings on the statistical laws governing the transmission of certain traits from generation to generation in 1856, it was not until the discovery and detailed study of , too, may well be playing a role as the patterns are reinforced generation after generation. This fascinating study broaches a topic that has long been analyzed an·a·lyze tr.v. an·a·lyzed, an·a·lyz·ing, an·a·lyz·es 1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations. 2. Chemistry To make a chemical analysis of. 3. with little more than wild speculation. Yet its conclusions seem as familiar and sensible as the simplest advice. What was that old adage again? If you want to be a runner, run. Practice every day, and start early on in life. (Med. Sci. Sports & Exerc., 2003, Vol. 35, No. 10, pp. 1727-1732) |
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