Lowveld running legend, Abednico Mashaba, battled through significant pain and injury on September 21 to finish his first-ever Berlin Marathon among the best runners in the world.

Mashaba (34) was one of 312 South Africans who formed part of the 50 000+ runners that took part in the 51st Berlin Marathon last Sunday.

Known as one of the fastest marathon routes in the world, the Berlin Marathon has produced some of the fastest marathon times in history, and Mashaba was determined to be among the front runners this year.

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Despite this year’s Berlin Marathon being his first international running event, Mashaba did not look out of place among some of the fastest in the world. He ran his first 10km in a rapid time of 31:34, which was only three minutes off the final winner, Sebastian Sawe.

Mashaba crossed the 21.1km mark in a time of 01:07:15, but trouble had already begun for the Lowvelder. “I started to feel pain in my hamstring at 17km, but I was still able to push on and keep going at a good pace,” Mashaba recalled in an interview with Lowvelder.

The situation worsened at about 28km, but he continued to push through. “I had to eventually stop running at 35km, and received some assistance with strapping and stretching, which allowed me to walk, then run, walk, then run, until about 40km when I simply had to walk to the finish.”

Mashaba ultimately crossed the finish line in a time of 02:39:20, which placed him 398th overall, 102nd in his group and third among the South African runners. Despite his struggles, he still managed a great average time of 03:47 per kilometre and an average speed of 15.89km/h.

“It really was such a great experience being able to run against the best in the world,” Mashaba said. “The support was amazing, all of the refreshment stations were sorted and the crowd cheered you on from the first kilometre to the last. The crowd, as well as some of my fellow runners, actually helped me over the finish line.”

He added that he learnt an immense amount through the experience. “The international runners handle their races very different from us here in South Africa. They start easy and finish stronger, which is something I will definitely be applying to my training going forward. Most importantly, the race taught me that you shouldn’t focus on the pain or the result, you should always focus on just crossing the finish line.”

Mashaba believes he could have finished the race in 02:10:00 or 02:11:00 were it not for his injury. “I was running with the best and I have unfinished business there now, I would really like to go back to Berlin next year.” His focus now turns to rehabilitation and recovery, and in November he will start to prepare for the Cape Town Marathon in May 2026.

Mashaba was born and raised in Matsulu and has been running competitively since he was 17. A former Sitfokotile Secondary School learner, his first competitive race was the Nedbank Series 5km in 2007, when he finished third. He followed that up with his first 10km at the Soweto Marathon that same year.

Three years later he ran his first half-marathon at the 2010 African Southern Region Half Marathon Championships. But it would take until 2022 for him to run his first full marathon race, doing so at the Cape Town Marathon.