Barely a week after taking the silver in the Daveyton Street Mile men’s 10km race, Qhubeka AC top runner Kabelo Mwahla clinched the aQuelle Joburg North Ultra men’s half-marathon on September 1 in Emmarentia.
Despite an accidental bungle by marshals extending the course, while some athletes were misdirected at the race’s start, Mwahla overcame all these challenges to dominate the race after clocking 01:10:50 for the top prize.
At the same event, Boksburg Athletic Club (BAC)’s Isaac Mokgola won the veteran men’s event.
In the 48km ultra-race, BAC’s Felix Banda fell two places outside the top 10 in the men’s race. He finished in 03:02:46 for 12th place, while Felly Moraba from Daveyton Hearts finished 27th in 03:33:38.
Proud Chauke, who won the Johnson Crane Hire Marathon men’s title at Willowmoore Park in January, clinched the race in 02:44:31.
Musa Zweni grabbed the second spot 18 seconds behind Chauke, while Matimba Chauke completed the top three in 02:48:18.
Though he was a runner affected by the marshalling errors, Qhubeka’s Mashishi was exhilarated by his performance.
He completed 42km instead of the required 48km because of the mistakes by the marshals.
Initially targeting to finish under 03:40, Seabi knew if he encountered no problems on the course, he would clock a personal milestone. He maintained a pace between 04:20 and 04:40 min/km to beat his target within almost 40 minutes.
“I enjoyed the race. Despite the marshalling mistakes, it was a good event. I prepared well for it and planned to finish under 03:40, but I knew if I did not experience any problems on the route, I would beat that time,” he said.
The runner attributed his performance to his training regimen, which includes always finishing his 20km long runs in less than 90 minutes.
“To succeed in running, you need consistency. Also, if you average 05:00min/km, don’t attempt a faster pace on race day. Trust the process. Take it one race at a time. Set realistic goals and target gradual development,” he added.
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