As he gears up for the Cape Town Marathon next month, SA half-marathon champion Thabang Mosiako says he will seek advice from veteran and champion Stephen Mokoka on how to run the race.
Mosiako won the Hollywoodbets Joburg 10km race at the Wanderers on Saturday in a time of 29:45, followed by Bennett Baloyi in 30:00 and Mokoka in 30:04 over a hilly course.
Mosiako said he was happy with how his preparations were going for the Cape Town Marathon, but he will still need advice from Mokoka, who was also using the Joburg race to prepare for the marathon.
Mokoka has won the Cape Town marathon three times and will be going for his fourth title next month.
“Stephen is my mentor, I always call or text if I need something or if I need some clarity based on my marathon training, and he always has a face-to-face chat [with me],” Mosiako said.
“I really trust him a lot. I remember we started this thing in 2023 at the World Half-marathon Championship [in Riga, Latvia]. I ran with him, and at some point, he told me that I would be late, [so] ‘just go and follow those guys up until you get to the finish’.
“Even in Cape Town, it is going to be the same. We will run the same race and the same splits. I trust him a lot to be next to him in races.”
Mosiako said he used Saturday’s race to test his speed and was satisfied with his performance.
“Yeah, I am so super excited to have won this race in Johannesburg. It was a huge performance for me because I had never won a Hollywoodbets 10km or even any of the Absa races,” he said.
“So, I am super excited, I can see now the doors are opening and the speed is there, long runs are there, deal work is there, and I am ready for the Cape Town Marathon. What is refreshing is that I train alone, and I listen to my body every time. When my body says you are down, I take it easy.”
In the women’s Hollywoodbets race, Kenyan Fridah Ndinda made it two out of two wins in Johannesburg as she finished in a time of 35:18, ahead of Gerda Steyn (35:52) and rising star Karabo Mailula (36:12).
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