‘Bring it on!’ Lesotho’s Seutloali believes he can upset the odds

JOHANNESBURG: Khoarahlane Seutloali is not bothered that his name is not on the list of the elite field for Sunday’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.

Far from it, for the Maxed Elite athlete from Lesotho would rather pounce from under the radar.

“It suits me just fine that I am one of the unknowns for Sunday’s race,” Seutloali told Independent Media from Lesotho yesterday.

Unknown? How can he consider himself unknown when only last year he finished third at the Soweto Marathon?

The discerning road running follower will also be aware of Seutloali’s impressive run in the Old Mutual Two Oceans half marathon earlier this year where he finished a good second.

Of course the marathon is a different beast. And his personal best of 2.23, attained on debut at Soweto, pales into insignificance compared to the times of the rest of the elite who will be competing at the continent’s first IAAF Gold Label race.

Seutloali’s confidence, however, stems from his performances in half marathons, where he has already run 62 minutes on two occasions.

“I have since been hard at training and I really believe I can spring a surprise. I am aiming to run a sub 2.10,” explained the man who will be making his Cape Town Marathon debut.

The talk ahead of Sunday’s race though is for the athletes to try and break Asefa Negewo’s 2.08.41 record set last year.

“To me, anything is possible. I don’t look at who is the competition because I believe that if they can bring it on, I also can bring it on.

“We will just meet at the start and show each other who is better.

“I’ve trained hard and I believe in myself and my abilities. I really think I can win the race. If the pace-setters push us for 2.07 I know I will be there with those who go for it. In Cape Town, the route is flat and fast, not so challenging.”

And the fact that he has had his training in the hills and altitude in Lesotho for a race at sea level adds to his confidence.

While three of his teammates, Mthimkhulu Hatasi, Neheng Khatala and Jobo Khatoane will also be in the race, Seutloali does not necessarily see that as some kind of advantage for him.

“We don’t train together. But we are going to meet up in Cape Town and see if we can devise any strategy to give our team an advantage over the others.”