Andrew Renneisen for The New York Times
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.