Gijimas all the buzz for road warriors
THERE are just two days to the inaugural Real Gijimas presented Zwelitsha to Mdantsane 50km Ultra Marathon on Sunday and the organisers have been boosted by at least two more high-profile entries.
Amos Nyongo who, while not having an ultra-marathon pedigree, has an interesting and diverse running history with a 30km race earlier this year being his longest racing success story. He finished that race in 1:39:19 for an average km pace of a touch under three minutes 19.
Nyongo, who hails from the Nelson Mandela Metro also has a personal best 10km of 29:38 which he set in E L and a 15km time of 45:48 run in PE while he also recorded a top halfmarathon of 65:44 in Uitenhage.
A track background that spans events from 800m to the mile as well as an 8:50:22 steeplechase best has athletic enthusiasts sitting up and pondering what this man can do over 50km.
None of this necessarily suggests that Nyongo can win over 50km, but nothing rules him out either.
The man who certainly does have a track record to take the title on Sunday is Maphekula Mzwanele also of Port Elizabeth. He has completed the 56km Two Oceans Marathon on 11 occasions, returning two gold medal performances.
His first attempt saw him finish in 3:21:40, which secured him a 23rd position. That was in 2005. One year later, and learning from just that one outing, Mzwanele finished in an impressive 3:11:09 and in fourth place.
2007 was not as good with him missing gold by one position and running 3:16:28.
2008 would, however, be his best year of all. Though not his fastest time – weather conditions and race tactics by opponents often affect the bottom line – he returned a 3:12:30 to finish second.
Mzwanele ran Comrades four times with a best placing of 19th in a time of 6:11:47.
There were other great performances from Mzwanele who must be a very serious contender for the 50km crown on Sunday.
In 2015 he won the Bruintjieshoogte 50km in 3:17:31 and in the same year finished second in the Friendly City Marathon with a 2:28:08.
He has also finished third at the Cape Town City Marathon where he stopped the clock at 2:22:38.
At South African Marathon Championship events Mzwanele has been extremely consistent finishing third, fourth and fifth. His best time was 2:17:45, which compares very favourably with ultra-marathoners such as Bruce Fordyce who has a similar personal best.
Race director Alex Kambule is ecstatic with the current flow of entries, the last two days having been particularly busy.
The prize-money is good, there are handsome medals on offer to all who finish and the Eastern Cape community can be proud of what Real Gijimas are all set up to achieve this weekend.