Johnson Crane shows Mokgola he is on the right track
"I am starting from now with my endurance and strength training. I believe I will be ready for Two Oceans by the end of March.”
While it may seem ambitious for a 40-plus-year-old marathoner, Isaac Mokgola to believe he is on the right track to achieve his goal of running a 10km race under 31:00.The Boksburg Athletic Club (BAC) athlete won the men’s 40-49 category in the 10km at Johnson Crane Hire Marathon on January 26. He clocked 35:12 for the veteran men’s gold, while he finished 11th overall.
After running a 38km training run the previous day, the Thembisa resident laced up his running shoes for the Johnson Crane 10km race aiming to jog, but once his body got warm, he decided to compete.
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“I did a 38km long run yesterday and today I wanted to jog. It became easy for me in the race and I managed to push myself. I am happy with my performance,” he said.
Since Mokgola started competing in 10km races last year to build up speed for marathons and ultras, he has continued to chew seconds off his PB in the distance, and his performance in Benoni indicated that he was on the right path.
“I am very close. My speed is improving. Everything is going well because in training I can dip under 32:00 and 33:00. I can even run under 30:00 or 31:00,” said Mokgola.
He has packed 2025 with ambitions. Chief among these is a sub 02:30 standard marathon, running the 56km Totalsports Two Oceans ultra on April 5 under 03:30 and completing the Comrades Marathon on June 8 under 06:30 for a fourth silver medal.
Mokgola knew as early as last year that to achieve these goals, his training should include a combination of strength and cross-training, while speed sessions became his main priority.
“I am building from the bottom up and since taking part in the short distance, I see lots of improvement.
“I am starting from now with my endurance and strength training. I believe I will be ready for Two Oceans by the end of March.”
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With a Comrades PB of 06:52:10 set in the 2023 down-run, the athlete is confident that if he achieves his Two Oceans goal, the small matter of a sub-06:30 at the ultimate human race will be easily ticked off his bucket list.
“If I could run the Two Oceans under 03:30, it would give me the confidence to go for 06:30 at the Comrades because I would have to build up enough mileage.
“I will take a two-week break after Two Oceans and then ramp up my Comrades build-up with speed, hill and off-road sessions.”
