Training does not make you fitter. Recovering from training does. Kenyan runners protect their recovery as seriously as their workouts, which is why they can keep training for years.

1. Sleep

Aim for 7 to 9 hours and keep a regular schedule. Treat bedtime like a training session, and protect the night before a hard session. Short on sleep? Cut the training, not the sleep.

2. The real rest day

Keep at least one full day off every week. A walk, light stretching and an early night are perfect. Rest days feel unproductive, but they are when last week's work turns into fitness.

3. Simple food

The Kenyan running diet is everyday home cooking, rich in carbohydrate and low in processed food. Carbohydrate is your main running fuel, so do not cut it while you train more. Eat real food at regular times, have a proper meal within an hour or two after hard sessions, and drink water through the day. Trying to lose weight fast while training harder is a common cause of fatigue, illness and stress injuries.

4. Think in years, not weeks

A missed run is a pause, not a failure. Pick up where you left off and do not try to make up lost kilometres. Compare this spring with last spring, not this Tuesday with last Tuesday.

The runner who trains steadily for three years almost always beats the runner who trains heroically for three months.

This is general guidance, not medical advice. How many hours did you sleep last night?

Iten, a small town in Kenya's Rift Valley, sits at about 2,400 metres under the famous "Home of Champions" sign. In 2019 World Athletics named it a Heritage Landmark.

Everyone asks the same question: why do so many great distance runners come from here? The usual answers are genetics, altitude, childhood and diet. Some of these help. None explains the whole picture.

Take altitude. Millions of people live high up and never run a fast race, and many visiting runners leave no faster than they came. Altitude multiplies good training. It does not replace it.

What you can copy instead:

1. Easy running as the biggest share of your week

2. Few hard sessions, each with a clear purpose

3. Group runs that hold easy days down and make you show up

4. Rest treated as part of the plan

5. Patience: consistency over years beats intensity over weeks

Training is an appointment, not a mood. Which of these five is your weakest habit right now?

Elite Kenyan runners often run 150 km a week or more, usually twice a day. Copying those numbers would break almost anyone with a desk job. Copy the structure instead.

The shape of the week

• Most runs are easy. They build the engine.

• One quality session is the week's main stimulus.

• One long run anchors the week.

• One full rest day. Rest, not a recovery jog.

• Hard days never sit back to back.

Pick your template

• A, three running days: easy run, quality day, long run. Great for newer runners and busy weeks.

• B, four running days: the right week for most recreational runners.

• C, five running days: for runners with a year or more of steady training.

Choose the template that matches the days you can run every week, not your best-case week. Four steady days beat five tired ones.

Grow slowly: add up to about 10% a week and take a cutback week (20 to 30% less) every third or fourth week. Change one thing at a time: time, or intensity, or a running day. Never all three.

Which template fits your life right now?

Most Kenyan distance runners spend little time lifting heavy weights. The Rift Valley is full of climbs, and running uphill loads your calves, glutes and thighs like a strength session. You cannot overstride on a climb, and because you move slower uphill it is gentler on your joints than fast running on the flat.

Three hill sessions

1. Hill sprints (power and durability): a steep hill, 6 to 8 efforts of 8 to 10 seconds after an easy run. Walk down slowly. Adds almost no fatigue.

2. Hill repeats (strength endurance): a moderate hill, 6 to 10 climbs of 60 to 90 seconds at 5K to 10K effort, after a 15 minute easy warm-up. Jog back down. This is your quality session that week.

3. Rolling easy run: a hilly route once a week, easy on the climbs even if that means walking.

Uphill technique

• Short, quick steps

• Drive your arms

• Run tall, lean from the ankles

• Eyes about ten metres up the road

On the way down, stay relaxed with quick, light steps. Braking hard is how quads get sore and knees get cranky. If you have had Achilles or calf trouble, start with four sprints on a gentler slope.

Find two hills near you this week: a steep 10 second one and a moderate 60 to 90 second one. Tell us what you found!