It is here that Ugandan running is now thriving, though the region’s talent took time to develop. While Kenya enjoyed relative stability in the decades after it gained independence in 1963, Uganda was at war for much of the 1970s and 1980s. Lawlessness pervaded the Mount Elgon region until the turn of the century: Bandits from neighboring tribes would sweep in at night and conduct raids on cattle, often killing locals in the process. The resettlement process, Kiptala said, was traumatic, but it also helped unlock running talent. Through school, children could access competitions, and by the early 2000s, athletes from the Elgon region were beginning to appear in World Championship and Olympic finals.

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Persons: Moses Kiptala, Kiptala, Kiplimo’s, Simba, Uganda’s, Dorcus Inzikuru, Stephen Kiprotich Locations: Kenya, Uganda, Elgon, Budapest, Helsinki, Elgon’s, Moscow