Lucky Mohale successfully defended his Fat Cats 10km race title in a time of 00:31:40.
The sixth annual race took place at Mall of Africa in Waterfall City, Midrand on October 5.
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Mohale (39), who was four seconds slower than last year, said he was using the race as part of his speedwork training, having done a 40km training run a day earlier.
The Nedbank runner said his next target was the Soweto Marathon on November 3.
Mohale said, “I love this Fat Cats course because it’s very tough and challenging. I have never missed this race in the past three years. There’s no course like this in Thembisa where I normally train.”
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About his long-term plans, Mohale said he was aiming for his maiden Two Oceans Marathon Cape Town.
In the women’s race, Farida Zwane (28) took the honours (00:38:54) in her first attempt of the race.
Zwane, who was running in a Rockies vest, said she was happy with her comeback to the road after suffering an injury in April.
“My year has been tough but I feel good. I only started running again in August but I’m happy that I can still win on a tough course like this one. I came here blind as this is my first time here but I managed to beat it,” she said.
Zwane said the next target was the Thembisa Mile race later this month. “My aim for next year is to improve my speed and dominate the half marathon scene.”
The Fat Cats race, affectionately known as #theraceforthewholefamily attracted a record field of more than 2 100 runners, both professional and social.
The runners participated in 10km and 5km races as well as the family-oriented Kitten Miler and Nappy Dash that cater for children.
Race director Cindy Nkomo said, “The fact that we managed to have more people registering for the event this year than last year means we have something good to offer. Also, we were competing with another big corporate race on the same day, and that can only give us confidence as a social club.”
She added they have also seen an increase in interest from sponsors and have managed to sign with a few of them who have committed for the long term.
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