It's almost 100% cultural. Distance running is the national obsession of Kenya and Ethiopia, two countries not renowned for their economic prosperity. Here in t

It's almost 100% cultural. Distance running is the national obsession of Kenya and Ethiopia, two countries not renowned for their economic prosperity. Here in the UK, distance running is strongly associated with the north-east, an area that has always been strongly working class and has been devastated by post-industrial decline. In much of continental Europe, cycling has a similar image to boxing as a tough sport for working-class men to lift themselves out of poverty. Running is damned near the cheapest sport you can choose to pursue. You need trainers, a road and plenty of carbs. If you can't afford to run, you probably can't afford to do much of anything. American culture has turned it into a bourgeois pursuit, but that's absolutely not the case in many other countries.