Marathons are not only a method to entertain but a way to make a living.

马拉松不仅仅是一种娱乐方式，还是一种谋生手段。

Amid¹ a marathon upsurge in China, many marathons offer a "medal bonus" which has attracted many African students to take part in order to earn money.

在中国的马拉松热潮中，许多马拉松赛事提供的“金牌奖”，吸引了许多为了挣钱的非洲学生的加入。

A student from Kenya has even told China News Service that he can earn an average of about USD 3,000 per month, making it an important way to pay bills and to help his families.

一名来自肯尼亚的学生甚至向《中国新闻社》透露，他平均每月可以赚到3000美元，而这成为了一个自己开支并帮助家庭的重要方式。

Wilfred, a Kenyan student studying in the Ningbo University, studies engineering² with full scholarship. However, living costs are still a burden for him.

来自肯尼亚的威尔弗雷德是宁波大学工程系的留学生，虽然有全额奖学金，但生活费对他来说依然是个难题。

Conditions began to change after another Kenyan student invited him to a commercial marathon competition.

直到另一名肯尼亚学生邀请他去参加了一场商业马拉松比赛，情况有了转变。

He now travels between Chinese cities to compete and make money. Sometimes when situations are good, he could earn about $3,000 a month, having extra money to send back home to help his farmer parents and five sisters.

威尔弗雷德现在奔波在中国各个城市参赛"淘金"。行情好的时候，他一个月能赚约3000美元，还能有余钱寄回家接济他的农民父母和五个姊妹。

Data from Chinese marathon site, runchina.org.cn, show that in 2016, there are 294 marathon competitions registered³ in China.

"中国马拉松"网站的数据显示，2016年中国的注册马拉松赛事有294场。

And it's common for the championship in many of these competitions to go to people from Africa.

在不少中国马拉松赛事中，非洲选手承包冠军已经成为常态。