Runny Money

For Kenyan marathoners, it's no pain, no gain — financially.  Think about that arduous run through the park that you do to get in shape. When you're feeling lazy, you can skip it. Marketplace reports on one runner, this year's Boston marathon winner Salina Kosgei, who wakes up every morning and trains two or three times a day, seven days a week for two marathons a year. It's painful, she says, but she can't just quit. It's her job.

In Kenya, running is like what tech is in Silicon Valley: It is the thriving industry of the region. Kosgei, for instance, made $200,000 for winning the Boston marathon. Her sponsor, Adidas, also gives her $30,000 to sport the brand. It's no small amount considering the average yearly salary in the area is $400. All of the nice houses and cars in Kosgei's town belong to runners. Still, Kosgei is conservative about her spending, because at 32, she knows she only has a few years left in the sport and she also helps out the rest of her family.

This isn't the first we've heard of running for money. Prior to the Beijing Olympics, the New York Times reported on runner Bernard Lagat and his family. Lagat, a native Kenyan who was running for the United States at Beijing, grew up in a running family. His parents ran to support the family, winning races and earning prizes like blankets, axes and tin roofing. He and his sister were encouraged to take up the "family business," too.

Here, we think of running as a hobby, an exercise. In Kenya, running is not just a way of life. It's a living.

Photo courtesy of Stewart Dawson, via Flickr.