African runners in it for the long run

Kenya's Valary Aiyabe beams with pride after becoming the first female runner to finish the Beijing Marathon 2018 on Sunday. ZHANG CHENLIN/XINHUA

Another IAAF Gold Label race, the Shanghai International Marathon, saw a South African, Stephen Mokoka, and an Ethiopian, Roza Dereje, retain the men's and women's titles, each earning $45,000. The four top places in both races were dominated by Kenyans and Ethiopians, who went home with prizes of at least $6,000－big money in the two countries where average per capita GDP is $1,500 and $800, respectively, according to 2016 data.

Wang Qihang, a manager working at Tao Camp in Kenya, which is owned by Tao Shaoming, the former coach of the Chinese women's distance-running team, said 20 athletes from East Africa took part in the Beijing Marathon last year, each earning $20,000 for finishing the course.

"At least 10 African athletes took part in medium-level events held in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing. In lower-profile races, including those held in Guiyang and Liupanshui, both in Guizhou province, the prize for the winner was 10,000 yuan ($1,500), Wang said.

He added that marathons had been held in China for more than four decades－including the Beijing and Great Wall races－but African participation had only been noticeable since 2012. This was the year when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was launched in Beijing, four years after the capital hosted the Summer Olympics.