Johannesburg - Nkosikhona Mhlakwana may be among the favourites to finish in the top ten of Sunday’s 48th edition of the Comrades Marathon down run. But the Hollywood Athletics Club star will not stand at the start line in front of the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Sunday morning thinking about the gold medal.
The Pitbull, a sixth place finisher last year in his maiden race from the KwaZulu-Natal capital to Durban, has grown in stature as an ultra runner and his second successive podium finish at the Two Oceans Marathon in April suggests he will be a serious contender for Comrades glory.
He is, however, a pragmatic man the 29-year-old from Howick and knows not to over-promise lest he falls short.
“The hope for race day is to finish the race, to see myself crossing the finish line. (For me) that’s the most important hope to have in my heart. It will be great for me to finish the race, cross the finish line and see those people supporting us runners.”
More than anything, he says, Mhlakwana is looking forward to the sight of his family cheering him on inside the Kingsmead Cricket Stadium: “I will be seeing my wife, my child, my mom and all the teammates and the Hollywoodbets staff who will be there at our stadium Kingsmead. It is going to be good to see that and I will be very delighted to cross the finish line at that stadium.”
The Puma-sponsored athlete intends to run just as he did last year: “I started running Comrades in 2019 and last year was my second year and my first down run. I will not change my race strategy. My coach Prodigal Khumalo and I believe in what we have been doing and we won’t change anything. ”
As he has always done, Mhlakwana will not be bothered much about the opposition: “My approach will be straight forward. I will be running against myself, my watch and the target time I have set myself.”
He ran a 5:43:27 last year for his sixth-place finish and he will definitely be looking to improve on that. His chances of running a faster time are improved by the fact that the distance will be slightly shorter than last year. The qualified school teacher who has put his academic career on hold to focus on his running says he has prepared himself well to run a race he will be pleased with.
“One good thing for me is that I have someone to push me to the next level because I cannot do this training thing alone. Makwande Mmgcwengi is a young kid who I work with. He ran a 6:10 last year and this year he wants to improve on it. We have been in this journey for two years together now and we both recognise and see the value in one another. A teammate is someone who knows you and helps you to improve and we have been doing that for each other and we are ready to have good races. Even our coach Prodigal Khumalo will be going for his tenth Comrades Marathon, he is going to join the green numbers club and I am wishing him well for his last Comrades.”
He acknowledges that his journey to road running success would not have been as smooth without support.
“I’ve been very lucky because I have sponsors like Hollywood, Puma who give me good running shoes and 32GI who provide me with the necessary supplements to keep me going. I can’t wait to be on the starting line so I can do them and all the people who support me on my social media and personally proud.”
IOL Sport