Why doesn't Bogota, Colombia produce world class distance talent?

Well altitude is not going to make one a world class runner anymore than living in Mississippi makes one a superstar in the sauna.

They produce cyclists. Maybe the body type is more conducive to cycling than distance running.

It probably also has to do with a general lack of focus and interest in running in Colombia, especially vs soccer.

My wife is Colombian. I would like to congratulate you on the correct spelling of the country.

Wide hips and huge booties?

I've always been curious what it would be like to train somewhere like that or La Paz, the capital of Bolivia (elev. ~14,000ft). But I want to say you get diminishing physiological returns above about 10,000, and it becomes extremely difficult to train for any kind of intense speed work. I forget what the deal is but I remember hearing that 8,500-9,500 is the sweet spot for distance runners.

Convince Seth DeMoor to move there. He can train high, do massive vert, and be a missionary all at once!

La Paz is actually a tad over 12,500 feet but yeah it is pretty high. I spent 6 weeks trekking through the andes in Peru, Ecuador, and Boliva and I can say that as you get above 12,000 it does certainly start to impact you way more than below. I was in Cuzco for a week ~11,000 and ran most mornings and it was definitely more difficult than sea level but not impossible to go along at a decent clip. However, when I stayed outside Lake Titicaca at around 13,000 and went for a run it was much more difficult despite only being a couple thousand feet higher. We did some trekking above 14,000 and it felt like my feet were going in slow motion, this wasn't a hey I'm gonna scale a 14er and then go down it it was a few days at high elevation and everything just took more effort.

The Inca actually had a strong running tradition but I don't think it has continued into modern times, though as has been noted Colombia does produce a ton of world class cyclists. You are required by law to take a porter when you do the Inca trail now and what was amazing is that they would all be wearing essentially heavy duty flip flops and carrying 40 pounds of gear and would run / speed walk up the trail way faster than I could without a pack likely as a result of acclimation and genetics, it was very impressive.

If Colombia 🇨🇴 women have huge booty and boobies then does that mean they do not make good distance runners but perhaps better as high jumpers?

And east African persons have better elasticity in Achilles which makes them better distance runners plus the diets of ugali for far superior endurance

As a side note a lot of big cities in South America are at elevation. Quito has over 2 million residents and is at 9,300, Bogota is close to 8,000,000 population at nearly 9,000 feet, La Paz / El Alto metro has over two million residents with elevation ranging from above 12,000 feet to 13,000 and there's probably another 30 cities with over 100,000 population above 9,000 just in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia way more than in the US, Kenya, Ethiopia, or pretty much anywhere else in the world other than perhaps Mexico but definitely not as strong of a running tradition as East Africa.

Paraphrasing jack daniels here- the ideal altitude destinations are also temperate and has dry air. Bogota and other locations with high elevation but also high humidity and average temperatures are not as good as say a Boulder or flagstaff

This is similar to the 'Why aren't East Africans winning the Tour de France?' question that comes up every now and then. The answer often given there is 'they don't have bikes', which is right, but it goes well beyond that too. I think both cases really highlight the significance of culture in determining a nation or region's sporting success.

On a practical level, most of Colombia is much more mountainous than Kenya or Ethiopia; the elevation is comparable, but the terrain is less conducive to running than the Rift Valley. The roads, even in the countryside, are also more likely to be paved and are notoriously dangerous/busy, and there are few tracks. The climate isn't ideal either.

Also, physically, Colombians tend to be fairly stocky relative to height. For cycling, their build is pretty perfect – being short allows them to stay light, but not being stick-like allows them to produce good power too. For running, it is not so advantageous.

But yeah, I think the most important influence by far is the cultural factor. There just isn't a big running culture in Colombia, and that means that any would-be elite distance runners tend to take their talent to other areas. Coupled with the other things I mentioned, I think that explains the dearth.

The only Colombian distance runners that I can remember racing were Domingo and Miguel Tibiduiza. I believe they ran at UNR in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Domingo ran under 28 for the 10 and 2:11-2:12 for the marathon. I can’t remember what Miguel ran, but he was several years younger than Domingo. They weren’t from Bogota.

If Colombians are going to run, they will have a soccer ball in front of them. Distance running simply isn't a sport there.

Fun Fact 1 - Triple jumper Caterine Ibargüen is the Colombian national record holder in the high jump. I didn't even know she high jumped.

Fun Fact 2 - When I opened this thread, the banner ad was for Colombian coffee. I feel like someone is spying on me.

You forgot this guy, Victor Mora, born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. he was especially famous in Latin America for winning the São Paulo midnight race several times and at that time, in that era, the early 80s, that was really the top race in Latin America. I had the privilege of meeting this modest guy at the 1981 Boston Marathon, where he ran 2:12:55, in the days long before the super shoes. Teleported to today’s era, and based on his 10,000 m personal best of under 28 minutes, I’m guessing that he would surely be at least a 2:07 - 209 marathon runner.

3000 Metres
7:53.8h
Firenze (ITA)
18 MAY 1976
NR
1092
5000 Metres
13:37.44
Firenze (ITA)
18 MAY 1976
1076
10,000 Metres
27:55.72
München (GER)
29 MAY 1976
1138
One Hour
20129
Essen (GER)
15 AUG 1973
AR
0
15 Kilometres
46:04
Tampa, FL (USA)
11 FEB 1989
957
30 Kilometres
1:35:17
Pacific Grove, CA (USA)
19 MAR 1972
1014
Marathon
2:13:40
Montréal (CAN)
13 SEP 1981
1100
Marathon
2:12:55 *
Boston, MA (USA)
20 APR 1981
1100

Victor Mora: This looks like he migrated to a suburb south of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, after his retirement and that he is now a permanent Canadian citizen. This is interesting and somewhat sad because I had lived in Montreal for many years and he never surfaced and never became involved with local clubs in the Montreal area to my knowledge. I guess he just preferred to remain anonymous, somewhat like Jerome Drayton in Toronto, Ontario, who despite his exploits remained very much under the radar after his brilliant career as a marathon runner.

Uh why is that sad?

Just look at the average Pedro in Bogota and the average Eliud in Nairobi and you have the answer.