Kenya’s marathon runner  Ruth Chepng’etich is set for a hefty payday solely for smashing the women’s record at the Chicago marathon on Sunday, October 13.

The 30-year-old made her world record dream come true, clocking 2:09:57 and becoming the first woman in history to go under 2:10. The previous record was 2:11:53 set by Ethiopian Tigst Assefa.

In truth, there was nothing lucky about Chepngetich’s win, as the 2019 champion was quickly off the blocks, dictating the pace from early on with Ethiopia’s Sutume Kebede her closest challenger.

Chepngetich widened the gap at the 25-kilometre mark and despite slowing down towards the end of the race, she commendably stayed in a pace which would guarantee a sub-2:10 finish.

With her victory, Chepng’etich not only lowered Sifan Hassan’s course record of 2:13:44 set last year, but she also established herself as the best female marathoner alive.

Chepngetich’s perks: Thanks to her record-breaking feat in Chicago, Chepngetich soared her financial status exponentially. Typically, top finishers in both the men’s and women’s categories set to pocket $100,000, equivalent to Ksh12.88 million.

However, the prize purse becomes heftier for runners who break the record, with the Chicago marathon typically feting record-breakers with USD50,000, equivalent to KSh 6.4 million, for smashing a course record. With this in mind, Chepngetich will likely pocket upward of USD 150,000 or KSh 19.2 million for her heroics in Chicago.

The Chicago Marathon is one of the highest-paying marathons in the world, and ranks among the top five most lucrative long-distance races alongside the Nagoya Women’s marathon, the Boston marathon, Tokyo marathon and New York City marathon.

Last year, the late Kelvin Kiptum also reaped handsome financial rewards for winning the men’s Chicago marathon in a world record time of 2:00:35. Like Chepngetich, Kiptum also received a bonus of USD 50,000 on top of the USD 100,000 he won for clinching first place.

Men’s marathon: Elsewhere, John Korir also achieved greatness at the Chicago marathon, beating his closest rival Ethiopia’s Huseydin Mohamed Esa to clock 2:02:43 in the men’s race.

 While this was not record-breaking, it was the second-fastest time ever run at the Chicago Marathon and also the fastest marathon finish of 2024. Amos Kipruto, the 2022 London Marathon champion finished in third place.

The London Marathon, Paris Marathon and the BMW Berlin Marathon round off the top eight highest-paying marathon events worldwide.

Since the prize money in the open division in both men’s and women’s races at the Chicago marathon is the same, Korir’s win will see him pocket USD 150,000 or Ksh 19.2 million before tax.