The fast approaching Comrades Marathon has seen many Joburg athletes pulling out all the stops to prepare for this tough race.
A second-time qualifying runner, Constable Sazi Khanyile from the Joburg Metro Police’s K9 Unit has been hitting the track at Ruimsig Athletics Stadium to work on his pace as he aims for a silver medal this year.
The 33-year-old from Cosmo City ran his first Comrades last year, which he enjoyed after finishing below the 12-hour cut-off time.
“Last year I ran the Comrades and I completed the race in 08:27:00 – for a novice that was a good run because it was before the cut-off time, and I was awarded a Bill Rowan medal [bronze medal],” said Khanyile.
Constable Sazi Khanyile does his practice-run ahead of the Comrades Marathon.
He added, “This year I’m pushing very hard for a silver medal, and I’m hoping to finish before the expected time of seven hours and 30 minutes.”
This passionate runner told the Roodepoort Northsider that he started running after seeking a solution to his weight problem. He started jogging from 2009 and from 2011, decided to challenge himself in participating in local marathons such as the Soweto Marathon.
Constable Sazi Khanyile plans his strategy for the Comrade Marathon.
“I started jogging to lose weight. I used to run 10km to 15km a day. Then, in 2011 for the first time I ran the Soweto Marathon which was a good experience.”
After tackling the local races, Khanyile decided to try out the ultra-marathons. “My first ultra-marathon was the City2City Marathon, a 50km race from Pretoria to Johannesburg. After that l participated in this year’s Two Oceans Marathon and will be running again for the second time in the Comrades Marathon.”
Khanyile also reckoned running leads to a healthy lifestyle and said,
“Runners hardly have health problems because of exercising. Running keeps you fit and healthy at all times, but you have to have a passion for it because it comes with a lot of pain.”
