Success in a major long-distance race can lift a Kenyan runner out of poverty overnight. It can also bring plenty of pitfalls, as fame and wealth often do. In the Rift Valley, the high-altitude region that is home to the vast majority of Kenya’s elite athletes, the belief in running as an escape from poverty remains prevalent, but few among the thousands of young athletes who flock to training camps each year ever make a living from running.
Even for those like Kibet who ascend to the sport’s pinnacle, long-term financial stability is rarer than most realize, even if they win one of the world’s biggest marathons, such as Boston, where Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono last week took first place and $150,000, or London on April 28.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/sports/kenyan-runners.html
Not bad pay. USD 150,000 for Boston marathon winner - General - Kenya Talk
lee Atlanta, GA. April 22 says:
Long distance/marathon running in Africa had its birth in Ethiopia. Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the 1960 Olympic marathon by running through the streets of Rome bare feet! Ethiopian runners dominated subsequent marathon events until the rise of Kenyan runners. Today, one of the wealthiest Ethiopians is a former long-distance runner who has invested his winnings in business ventures and has created jobs for others. Just wanted to point out that a different outcome is possible.