Eldoret: Kenya's capital of running champions

At high altitude on Kenya's plateau, Eldoret remains the cradle of the world's most celebrated middle-distance and marathon runners.

The center, Kenya's running capital, is comfortably explored by taxi or boda-boda.

The training camps of Iten, just outside Eldoret, host thousands of international athletes every year drawn by the altitude and ideal climate for endurance training.

A few minutes away, the Eldoret Sports Museum tells the story of Kenyan Olympic champions born in the region, among the most decorated in athletics history.

Continuing toward the highlands, one observes the tea plantations surrounding the city, cultivated thanks to the cool high-altitude climate of the region.

Toward evening, Eldoret's local markets animate agricultural trade of the region, among the most fertile in western Kenya.

Iten, nicknamed 'the home of champions,' has produced a disproportionate share of the world's best middle-distance and marathon runners, a phenomenon attributed to an altitude of over two thousand four hundred meters and to genetic and cultural factors still being studied by scientists.

The region around Eldoret, thanks to its cool high-altitude climate, also remains an important center for tea and maize production, the principal agricultural crops of western Kenya.