LIMPOPO – Hitekani Shikwambana has been running excellent times at marathons around the country.

The 28-year-old of PMC Athletics Club completed his second Soweto Marathon with a time of 02:44:44 on the clock.

He obtained 67th place overall in the race on Sunday, November 3. He says for most of the 42.2km he ran alongside the leading women.

He told the Herald that he was happy with his performance, but he wanted to better his personal best time of 02:35:00, which he obtained during the Masingita 4-in-1 Marathon in Giyani in September.

“I’m a little bit disappointed with how I performed. This is my third fastest time, I was aiming for 02:30:00, a 5-minute improvement.”

Last month he obtained fourth place in the 21.1km during the Fortress Running Series in Venda in a time of 01:14:00.

He also ran the Comrades Marathon for the first time this year and managed to take home a silver medal after finishing in a time of 06:54:50.

The 28-year-old says winning the Comrades medal was his greatest achievement, including running 20km with Gerda Steyn, winner of the women’s race.

He told the Herald that he started running in 2010 to gain stamina as a soccer player.

His first marathon was the Tzaneen Mayor’s Marathon in 2012 where he came first in the 10km race. Some of his long-term goals include doing well in future Comrades races and representing South Africa at the Olympics.