NAIROBI, Aug. 17 -- More Kenyan track athletes are switching from track to marathon as they grow older while opting for slower events.

The star runners who have announced their intent to scale to the energy-supping 42km race include Kenyans Vivian Cheruiyot formerly of the 5,000m and 10,000m fame, Ezekiel Kemboi (3,000m steeplechase) and Britain's Mo Farah (5,000m and 10,000m) among others.

They are following in the footsteps of earlier converts like Paul Tergat, Moses Tanui and Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya; Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele both of Ethiopia; and Shalane Flanagan of the United States - who have all won several elite marathon titles.

Geoffrey Kirui, who won the gold medal at the just-concluded World Athletics Championships in London, oscillates between the 10,000m and the marathon event.

"As athletes grow older, their legs give in speedwise especially when faced with younger and more agile runners. The old guards are therefore compelled to scale up to longer races which are slower but require more endurance," 1987 world marathon champion, Douglas Wakiihuri told Xinhua on Thursday.

Payout at elite city races is also one factor that compels track athletes to convert to marathon running where appearance fees, prize money and bonuses can jolt one's bank account upwards tremendously.

The prize money for winners of the Boston Marathon which stands at 150,000 U.S. dollars for example, is three times what a runner can make by winning Diamond League final on the track.

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