Stuart Franklin travelled to Kenya’s heartland of distance running in Eldoret and Iten, two towns situated over 2,000m from sea level. These high-altitude towns are the home to most of the great Kenyan Olympic and World Champion distance runners from the past 40 years. Iten’s also home to the IAAF-accredited Olympic High Altitude Training Centre, founded by ex-World Champion Lornah Kiplagat, which is also a base for many non-Kenyan runners who come to train in the region. Stuart captured the athletes on their morning runs and their daily lives.

Along with Ethiopia and Eritrea, distance running...