East African runners are known worldwide, but competition for the elusive sponsorships that will help them compete and support their families is fiercer than ever in the age of Covid
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It is a Sunday afternoon in November in the village of Leldaet, Kenya, and Kip Tisia’s mother and sister-in-law are cooking a feast. The family has just watched a livestream of Tisia’s brother, Elkana Langat, winning the Maratona di Ravenna,
Italy, with a time of 2:10:33.
A few weeks before, another brother, Kiprono Langat Clement Ken, won the Rome Marathon in 2:08:23. Tisia, himself a winner of multiple marathons in Upstate
New York and Cleveland, is giddy as he shares the good news in a telephone interview. Many in the village will be coming over to celebrate with steak and ugali, a traditional Kenyan staple made from corn. Distance running is practically the national sport in countries in East Africa. For families like Tisia’s that have struggled, distance running provides a better income as well as scholarships to higher education in the
United States – much like
basketball in impoverished communities in this country.