FILE PICTURE: Mokoka Stephen from TUT winner of the men's 1 Mile during the Varsity Athletics Challenge at Coetzenburg Stadium on April 15, 2013 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. (Photo by Luke Walker/Gallo Images)
“My goal is to run a good time on the day. Every time I train I focus on getting a good time and ultimately getting a good time means getting a good position,” Mokoka said before the race.
“If I can get a good time it will show that my preparation for the World half marathon is on the right track.
“So far I believe that things are going well and I just hope that it will reflect on race day.”
The 29-year-old, who sat out last year’s championships, heads into the race fired up with confidence following last weekend’s victory in the 10km event at the BestmedTuks road race.
He won the national 10km road title in 2009 and 2010, finishing second in 2011 and was fourth in 2012.
While Mokoka looked to improve on his time at the race in Bloemfontein, he remained mum about the actual time he targeted.
“My coach will still let me know what time I should run because he knows how much I need to push.”
After Saturday, Mokoka would shift his focus to the longer 21km distance as he looked to build on his performance in the global showpiece on March 29.
He is set to compete at the World half marathon championships for the fourth time, after he was selected by Athletics South Africa (ASA) as part of a provisional three-man team.
Lusapho April and Elroy Gelant were also named in the team.
“I won’t be taking part in any other race after the championships this weekend. My main focus is on the World half marathon right now,” Mokoka said.
“The World half marathon is a major event for me and I hope to go there and improve my previous result and time.
“I’m really looking forward to the race because I get to run against the best runners in the world and the main purpose is to get a faster time while running against the world’s best.”
Last year, track athlete Jeromy Andreas sprinted to his first national 10km road championship title in 29 minutes and three seconds (29:03), while Lebo Phalula won the women’s race in 33:48.
– Sapa
