The training change that took Tete Dijana from good runner to Comrades winner

He may have surprised his fellow runners and stunned a quality field, but Tete Dijana’s 2022 Comrades marathon win in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday was no fluke.

A decision to focus on ultra-marathon distance running rather than on the standard 42.2km distance was at the core of Dijana’s triumph. And, that decision to move up to the longer distances was taken just two months before Comrades.

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“Tete was training with some of the guys in Rustenburg just eight weeks before Comrades but we decided he should rather concentrate on the longer distances and so we moved him to Dullstroom, to train with the other guys, at altitude, for three solid weeks,” explained Nedbank Running Club national manager Nick Bester.

“That move was very important. He was able to gain that extra 10% that is so crucial by training at altitude.”

Dijana trained with the likes of former Comrades winner and second-place finisher Edward Mothibi in the camp in Mpumalanga.

“It’s a great group. They’re all good friends, and they’re known as ‘the happy bunch’.”

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Dijana won the 90km race in a time of 5:30, 38, with Nedbank team-mates Mothibi second in 5:33,46 and Dan Moselakwe third in 5:36,25.

“Tete is such a happy, friendly, down-to-earth guy,” said Bester of the 33-year-old security guard from the North West University’s Mahikeng campus.

“He is so appreciative of everything and I’m so happy for him.”

Pacing Mokoka

Because of a background in half-marathon and marathon distances, Dijana had little Comrades experience, his only other run coming in 2019 when he finished 50^th in a time of 6:25,03.

Coach Dave Adams, who’s guided him since moving out of Pio Mpolokeng’s training group, had predicted a good Comrades run for Dijana. “Don’t let that 2019 Comrades finish time fool you,” said Adams before Sunday’s Comrades.

“He is most definitely a much different athlete now than he was in 2019 and he has a definite chance of finishing in the top 10 and getting a gold medal.” He did better, he won.

Dijana’s talent and potential was evident not too long ago when he set the pace for teammate Stephen Mokoka to set a new world record 50km mark of 2:40,13 in Gqeberha in March. Dijana finished second and Mothibi third.