Runners to take on London Marathon
Athletes to fly BCM’s flag at event for first time in 20 years
The 2024 TCS London Marathon will take place on April 21 and Buffalo City Athletics Road Runners Yanga Malusi and Malixole Kalideni will be among those crossing the finish line just a few metres from Buckingham Palace.
This year’s event will see more than 50,000 runners race their way through the streets of London over 42.195km, and for the first time in more than 20 years, runners from Buffalo City will be among them.
Malusi and Kalideni, who are sponsored by Slimsy, were selected by the Kotelo Mbekeni Foundation to take part in the marathon in recognition of their talent and hard work, and to support athletes who would ordinarily not have access to compete internationally.
They left East London for the UK on April 16.
Both athletes have had a phenomenal running season so far, with both remaining hot on each other’s heels for first or second place in the region’s biggest races.
This included the Mercedes Benz 15km, where they finished just 13 seconds apart, with Malusi claiming first, beating his previous Mercedes-Benz record.
Kalideni, who placed fifth nationally in the Runifield Nelson Mandela Bay 50km, believes this result, along with his strict training, proves he is ready to make his debut at the London Marathon.
He said: “It is a great honour to go there and represent my country in the London Marathon. I never thought I could run in London and it’s going to my first time in the UK ever in my life.
“My goal is to run a good time or personal best time and keep the belief and faith in my abilities. I wake up early every day at 4am for training, then after work training again later,
so preparing for the marathon has not been easy journey.
“In this past month I completed 1,000km in preparation, which was the toughest challenge I’ve done.
“This year I ran three races and in all I did well and earned a podium finish.
“There are so many people in my life who inspire me like local triathlon and biathlon world champion Andrea
Ranger, and runners Sharon Bosch and Karen Zimmerman, as well as my Old Selbornians club.
“I learnt a lot from them and I’ve got massive support from them, which helped me become the good runner I am today. I hope mine and Yanga’s appearance at the London Marathon will allow young athletes from Buffalo City to see their dreams are possible and to prove to authorities in the city that running deserves investment such as good coaches and sponsorships.”
Malusi’s participation in the London Marathon, which is also only his second marathon ever, will be a debut for Real Gijima’s Athletics Club in the international scene.
Advisory committee member for the club, Alex Kambule, said: “Yanga’s achievement gives our upcoming runners motivation and will inspire athletes in our club and beyond.”
Old Selbornians Road Runners chairperson Sharon Elridge said Kalideni had proven that hard work could open doors for athletes.
She said: “Malixole has been training very hard and is ready for this race. He has a [strict] training programme. He is not only a very talented athlete, but is incredibly humble in both victory and defeat. He is a role model who will inspire and motivate the youth and all runners to realise one can achieve despite adversity or challenges.”
I hope that mine and Yanga’s appearance at the London Marathon will allow young athletes from Buffalo City to see their dreams are possible and to prove to authorities in the city that running deserves investment*