ELDORET, Kenya — Ten years ago, in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, Duncan Kibet lay spread-eagle on the pavement, attempting to process the record-setting run he had just completed and how it was about to change his life.

When he toed the starting line of the 29th Rotterdam Marathon that morning, April 5, 2009, he had been earning a living as an elite athlete for nearly a decade. But with a marathon personal best of only 2 hours 7 minutes 53 seconds, he was hardly a household name in Kenya, home to the world’s greatest concentration of distance running talent. Then he ran a 2:04:27, nearly three and a half minutes faster, making him Kenya’s national record holder and the second fastest marathoner in history.

The win was worth big money for Kibet, who, like most of his running peers, had grown up poor. He earned $180,000, including his appearance fee. Nike would soon sign him to a contract worth $100,000. In Kenya, where the cost of living is low, a payday like that was supposed to set him up for life. But it rarely works out that way, and it didn’t for Kibet.

He bought a house for his mother in Eldoret, the de facto Kenyan running capital, and a Toyota Hilux truck. There were school fees for various relatives and contributions to a home for orphans. He bought Italian suits and had baseball caps and shirts shipped from the United States.