Athletics is a highly individual and often lonely sport. For many athletes, winning their first race comes with an opportunity to not only take home some money but also get noticed and get into the hands of someone who can help them develop further. In addition to catching the eye of an agent, an athlete can get a deal with a sports company that could open more doors for them.

For an athlete to win races, they need to train well which requires them to have the right shoes, the right training kit, proper nutrition, and access to skilled coaching.

Some cannot afford these basics, and that’s where a recently created initiative has come in to help.

“Some of them are supposed to pay as little as little as KES 3000 shillings at a camp, but they can’t even afford that,” said Gladys Boss, the Woman Representative for Uasin Gishu, who heads the Adopt-an-Athlete initiative.

“Some of them say, ‘I just don’t have shoes, I don’t have a T-shirt, I don’t have a place to live.’  A lot of our girls who are training live in the shopping centres, where they are exposed to gender violence and gender abuse. Some coaches take advantage of them,” she added.

The stories are not just anecdotal.

The 2021 murder of 10,000-metre world record holder Agnes Tirop exposed the realities of the abuse and exploitation that young athletes, especially women, face.

Agnes’ death resulted in increased attention on the subject, and at a conference held to deliberate the wellbeing of Kenyan sportswomen, the Ministry of Sports presented a report showing that 15 per cent of female athletes reported sexual abuse.

Lack of education, poverty and inexperience were listed among the reasons for Gender-Based Violence among female athletes.

Adopt-an-Athlete is one of the initiatives seeking to deal with the issue by giving young athletes a helping hand. At the Eldoret City Marathon, which was also sponsored by Safaricom, the initiative paid the KES1,500 entry fee for needy athletes.

Through her community networks, Gladys is able to pick out those athletes with potential who are not able to train due to financial constraints and equip them with resources through Adopt-an-Athlete.

“When you send a donation, it’s goes to the bank via a paybill number. So, if you respond to our appeal and put money in there, we assign it to an athlete, and we are going in order of priority depending on highest needs. Whoever adopts an athlete is able to follow the progress of the athlete and continue to provide for them and they can watch them grow,” said Gladys who is also the patron of the Eldoret City Marathon.

While athletes struggle with resources at the start of their careers, running is a lucrative affair when one achieves success. If not managed well, the winnings may look like a windfall, and the athlete may give in to the temptation to waste it all.

With an athlete’s career having a lifespan of between six and 10 years, managing one’s windfall and investing for the future is critical.

Unfortunately, due to the solitary nature of athletics, athletes are usually left to their own devices after winning races and achieving financial success. The Adopt-an-Athlete initiative and organisers of the Eldoret City Marathon are seeking to change the narrative and in future provide financial guidance and life-counselling for successful athletes.

Moses Tanui, the founder of the Eldoret City Marathon and a two-time Boston Marathon winner in his heyday, knows all too well the dangers of sudden success on young athletes.

“They are all human. They are all people. So, what we need to do is to make sure that in future, we really sensitise and counsel the athletes before the run and after the run. After they win, we have a sitting with them, and make sure that we guide them on what to do, so that they can save their money. Yes, they can use part of the money they win but mostly they need to save for the future,” explained Tanui.

Victor Kipchirchir, the winner of the last three editions of the Eldoret City Marathon, has invested his winnings in real estate.

For Gladys, who was a budding athlete in her younger days, Adopt-an-Athlete is personal.

“I told myself if I can build one athlete at a time, that’s enough. I don’t have to change the entire world. But if I can change a few lives, I will feel good about myself. For as long as we have an athlete that is needy, we will do it. For me, I have to do it here, because Eldoret is the city of champions, I am their representative and this is the predominant sport here,” she said.