Mandla in top two per cent of Comrades runners
Mandla Moloi, with barely enough training and the wrong shoes gave his all and didn't allow anything to stand in his way of reaching the Comrades finish line.
This year marked the 94th edition of the Comrades Marathon. It was an up run that started in Durban.
About 20 000 runners took on the gruelling 90 kilometres route from the Durban City Hall to the Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg.
Krugersdorp was well represented by many runners on the day. One of them who made his town proud, was Mandla Moloi who finished in the top two per cent. Mandla placed 1 061st in the overall ranking, and 1 010th in the male division.
He started running in 2007, but has only been competed professionally since 2016. Since then he has competed in the Germiston Callies 15km, Jacaranda 21,1km, Kaya FM 6,7km, In-Reach Night Race 10km, City Lodge Tough One 32km, Crane 42,2km and the Soweto 21km Marathon.
The 90km Comrades was the biggest challenge he has ever undertaken.
To prepare for the Comrades, Mandla trained after work for five days a week, and rested for two. This he did for a few months.
“The most difficult part of the Marathon was the hills. It was so painful running up, and running down was so easy although cramping was challenging, especially in the down sections. And, I got an injury because of the shoes I was wearing,” he said.
