Capstone Outline

I. Purpose: The purpose of this capstone paper is to analyze how geography affects
running ability, and what are the strongest factors that influence it.
II. Thesis: The cultural factors of environment, socioeconomic status, and history
influence running ability more and with greater strength than biological
characteristics.
III. History of Strong vs. Weak Countries/ Overall Introduction to the Sport
a. Strong:
i. Evidence:
1. The US has the most Olympic medals in the world, with 757
(Mallon 2012)
2. Great Britain has the second most medals, with 196 (Mallon 2012)
3. Jamaica is in 13th with 54 (Mallon 2012)
4. Kenya is in 9th with 68 (Mallon 2012)
5. In the United States, out of NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and
Field Athletes, 55.66% of female athletes and 54.10% of men are
White. (Division I All Conference Figures 2015-2016)
6. Out of NCAA Division 1 Cross Country runners, 72.59% of
women and 72.59% of men are White. (Division I All Conference
Figures 2015-2016)
ii. Analysis:
1. Based on these statistics, it appears as if the more developed
nations are more successful in the sport.
2. Also, White athletes seem to dominate the sport in the United
States
3. Since the United States has the largest amount of Olympic medals,
it could be argued it is a result of the larger population size
4. The developed countries succeeding more is a cultural factor,
relating to socioeconomic status. Even though Jamaica and Kenya
are countries that are well-known in the sport, the lack of Olympic
medals may be due to the size of the nation and event
specialization.
b. Weak:
i. Evidence:
1. Many countries, such as Venezuela, Colombia, Barbados,
Dominican Republic, etc. only have 1 medal (Mallon 2012)
2. India has 0 Olympic medals (Mallon 2012)
3. Out of NCAA Division 1 Cross Country runners, 9.30% of women
are African American, and 5.77% are Hispanic. For men, 9.29%
are African American, and 8.09% are Hispanic. (Division I All
Conference Figures 2015-2016)
4. Out of NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field athletes,
26.96% of women are African American, and 5.56% are Hispanic.
 Out of the men, 26.78% were African American, and 5.56% were
Hispanic. (Division I All Conference Figures 2015-2016)
ii. Analysis:
1. The weaker countries seem to be the less developed ones.
IV. Culture
a. Kenya
i. Evidence:
1. Running= opportunity to have a better life and make more
money (Reyes 2014)Episode 1
2. Running is the focus of their everyday lives, for training is
everything [they] do (Reyes 2014)Episode 1
3. You get use to a certain lifestyle and its just as much training
without knowing. If theres no sugar at home you have to go and
buy. And if your dad sends you to go and buy in the shop and the
shop is 10km [away] so you have to run. Maybe theres some
visitors so you have to run very quick and back. If theres
something which needs to be done and the choice is to run or to
walk then you have to do it. So you have to run. (Reyes 2014)
Episode 2
4. [being a successful runner] improves the standard of living
(Reyes 2014)Episode 2
5. Theres a higher possibility of producing high class aathletes
because each and every one is trying to [get faster to win races in
order to earn more money] (Reyes 2014)Episode 2
6. People who are rich, they cannot feel pain. All the Athletes have
come because of the poverty. (Reyes 2014)Episode 3
ii. Analysis:
1. The entire motivation for being a runner is because of the benefits
it provides for these individuals lives
2. Culture strengthens the prevalence of running in the country,
making it more popular (Reyes 2014)Idk if this needs to be cited
b. India
i. Evidence:
1. it is much more a matter of culture (Foreman 2012)
2. There is a stereotype of weakness in people from India (Foreman
2012)
3. Weakness is a s a result of caste and class attitudes to physical
effort (Foreman 2012)
4. high status is associated with minimal physical activity
(Foreman 2012)
5. The appeal of running has only started growing in recent years
(Foreman 2012)
ii. Analysis:
1. It wasnt as if their bodies arent made for running, it is more of the
culture of the country didnt support the sport
 2. The lack of success in this country was due to the opinions of the
nation, not their biological make-up.
c. South Africa
i. Evidence:
1. the number of women runners relative to men remains small (De
La Rey and Zubeda 1993, p. 25)
2. the growth in the participation of women has been racially
uneven (De La Rey and Zubeda 1993, p. 25)
3. dual perception of running as a sport for men and whites (De
La Rey and Zubeda 1993, p. 3)
4. Many do not participate because of societal expectations (De La
Rey and Zubeda 1993)
ii. Analysis:
1. Similar to India, the culture of the nation impacted the popularity
of the sport
V. Socioeconomic Status/ Technology/ Environment
a. Evidence:
i. Technological advances are a key influence of changing records,
(Munasinghe, OFlaherty, & Danninger 2001)
ii. Technology= shoes, workouts, nutrition, sports medicine, healthier habits,
measuring devices, etc. (Munasinghe, OFlaherty, & Danninger 2001)
iii. US and world records were ones based on the results of the study that
seem to grow fastest (Munasinghe, OFlaherty, & Danninger 2001, p.
1140)
iv. Globalization increases the speed of change
v. Globalization= increased presence of athletes from regions of the world
previously not represented. (Munasinghe, OFlaherty, & Danninger 2001,
p. 1141)
b. Analysis:
i. This connects to my thesis because it relates to factors outside of
biological ones that influence running ability. Specifically, technology and
globalization have been shown, through this article, to be influential.
VI. Biology (Counterargument)
a. Kenya:
i. Evidence:
1. Kenyan runners were able to swing their leg forward faster and
through a greater range [than Japanese runners] (Kong & Heer
2008, p. 2)
2. Mean BMI was 20.1 (kg/m2) and their percent body fat was 5.3%
(need more research to have a comparison to the United States
average)
3. ground contact time during their left leg stride was significantly
longer than that of the right legwhich is possible that it may
affect their lowered proneness to injuries (Kong & Heer 2008, p.3)
 a. The only comparison they have is that it was less than
runners of Finland (Kong & Heer 2008)
4. The way Kenyans run is beneficial to their overall success
ii. Analysis:
1. Though there is evidence to support a correlation between the
running form and body type of Kenyans, it is not as strong as
cultural factors because one could alter their form in order to
match these athletes if necessary.
b. Jamaica:
i. Evidence:
1. Being successful at sprinting is correlated with the ACE gene
(Brooks 2014)
2. The D Allele, a specific type of ACE gene that allows for one to
be able to have a larger than average heart capable of pumping
highly oxygenated blood to muscles quicker than the average
human (Brooks 2014)
3. 70% of American professional athletes have a certain gene
associated with successful sprinting, whereas 75% of all Jamaicans
have it. (Brooks 2014)
4. Runners from Jamaica did not differ in two genotypes when
compared to non-runners in the country (Scott et al. 2010)
5. Male African-American runners from the US showed a larger
presence of the ACE A22982G genotype than non-runners (Scott
et al. 2010, p. 109)
ii. Analysis:
1. The genotype analysis does not necessary mean biological factors
are stronger than cultural ones, for it can be argued that it is due to
the population sizes that caused those results.
VII. Conclusion