When the World Cross Country Championships came to Aarhus, Denmark in 2019, Kenya's team arrived expecting to win. They did. Kenyan athletes won medals across multiple categories, continuing a tradition that had made Kenya the most successful nation in cross country running history. At home, millions watched on television and in community centres. Running is not just a sport in Kenya. It is a cultural institution, a pathway out of poverty, a source of national identity that transcends the ethnic and political divisions that define so much else about the country.