Local athletes geared for Comrades Marathon 2019

Well over 200 local athletes will represent Polokwane during the 94th annual Comrades Marathon set to be run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg on Sunday.
Polokwane Athletic Club (PAC), Pietersburg Road Runners (PRR) and Mzansi Athletic Club hosted their goody bag events on Saturday to wish all athletes well for the Comrades. Run/Walk for Life is the smallest club giving three runners a send-off on Monday evening.
The majority of athletes from all clubs indicted that they do not have a specific diet but the closer it comes to the actual race they gradually increase their carbohydrate intake. Some also increase their energy drink intake and during the race prefer to eat potatoes and bananas while keeping hydrated with water and energy drinks.
It was learnt that training is much more important than a special diet. Some athletes covered at much as 1 400 km since the beginning of the year as training for Comrades. Some athletes did three to four marathons as preparation.
Entries for the 2019 Comrades Marathon opened on 19 October and were limited to a maximum of 25 000 runners. On the first day 12 500 athletes entered. The race is set to start at 05:30 and finish at 17:30.
The top ten runners to be on the lookout for include Bongmusa Mthembu who will undoubtedly be the main man to watch after his fabulous win at Two Oceans in April. His flawless victory en-route to Durban last year saw him become the first athlete since the legendary Bruce Fordyce (1988) to win back-to-back races. The 34-year-old won a bronze medal at the IAU 100 km World Championships staged in Croatia last October. In addition to his three victories, Mthembu has another four gold medals to his name and will be on the hunt to become the first athlete since Stephen Muzhingi to win the race three times in a row.
The 2019 edition will mark seven years since Limpopo runner Ludwick Mamabolo claimed his only Comrades victory. He has collected another four gold medals since, taking his tally to seven. Mamabolo finished fourth in the 2017 marathon and is desperate to add another title to his name.

Story:RC Myburgh
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