Race for recognition

While I agree with Mike Lambert ("The men who were born to run", THES, April 14) that there is a genetic predisposition to distance running in a small population in Kenya, this is entirely different from suggesting that black athletes are inherently better at distance running.

The success of Kenyan runners may have more to do with their heredity than with the colour of their skin per se. Authors seldom feel the need to explain the success of white athletes as due to the colour of their skin.

Stuart Taylor PhD student University of Teesside