An inspiring study by an international runner and anthropologist who goes to Ethiopia to find out why east Africa’s long-distance runners lead the world

If you watch any major marathon in the world, almost without exception you will see a group of Kenyan and Ethiopian runners battling it out at the front. What is it that propels so many athletes from this corner of east Africa to dominate the sport of long distance running so completely?

Out of Thin Air is Michael Crawley’s account of living for 1...