Fifty percent of the Kenyan top runners are members of Kalenjin, one minority race of the country. They make up less than two percent of Kenya’s population. This fact has puzzled sports scientists. They have spent considerable time and effort trying to answer one question: What enables the Kalenjin people to run so fast?

A team of Danish scientists spent 18 months and discovered the Kalenjins had remarkably slow heart rates even when running long distances. The Kalenjins live in high-elevation (高海拔) villages in western Kenya. People living there produce more red blood cells, which support the transport of oxygen throughout the body. Scientists believe there is a connection between increased red blood cells and low heart rates and that both may enable high-altitude athletes to outperform those who train at low elevation. The Danish scientists also studied the bodies of the Kalenjins and compared them to those of the Danes. They found that the Kalenjins have lower body mass indexes-a measure of body fat based on weight and height, and longer “birdlike” legs than Danish people.

As a result of the Danish study, some scientists made the conclusion that the Kalenjins possess what is called a “speed gene”. However, Kenyan runners were offended by this conclusion. They owed their success to hard work and endless hours of training.

Although the controversy (争议) over the “speed gene” remains unsolved, British runner Mo Farah’s experience offers an interesting perspective on the subject. In 2005, he realized he wasn’t meeting his potential as a runner. A group of Kenyan runners were training in England then. After he observed the Kenyans’ strict training routines and dedication to their sports, Farah began eating healthy foods and training harder than he had ever trained in his life. As a result, Farah’s running career exploded. He has won seven world and Olympic titles in the 5,000m and regularly beats Kenya’s top runners.

Farah’s story proves what Kenyans have known all along. Their “secret” is simple. Train hard, run fast and never give up.

In my mind, there is a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart. Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. Being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. Despite his hard training at all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.

This teenager lived alone with his father, and the relationship between the two of them was very special. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him.

The young man loved football and was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior. All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a benchwarmer. Besides, his faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on”. Everyone firmly believed that he could never make the cut, but he did.

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but actually he never got the real chance to play in a game.

It was at the end of his senior football season that the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became totally silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?” The coach put his arm gently around his should and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.”

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines (边线), the coach and his players were surprised to see their faithful teammate back so soon. “Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today,” said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close play-off game. But the young man insisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. “All right,” he said. “You can go in.’’ Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, passed, blocked, and tackled like a star. His team began to succeed. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid got a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.

Finally, after the stands had emptied, the coach noticed that this young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, “Kid, you were unbelievably fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?”

He looked at the coach, tears in his eyes, and said “Well, you knew my had died, but did you know that my dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could make it!”