Mthembu and Mabhida in win-win partnership
Xolani Mabhida and Bong’musa Mthembu joined forces as coachathlete four months before last Sunday’s Comrades Marathon.
“His manager, Sibusiso Mcamani, approached me in February, and I’ll be honest, Musa’s [Mthembu] group had everything.
“I just made small changes to their programme,” said Mabhida.
“I put him on the track to do the 10 000m as well as 5km runs, to get the right balance in his speed and strength because we were preparing for the up-run.”
Their union, however, was bound to happen as it started with a friendship that was fostered at the training grounds near the Pietermaritzburg Cricket Oval four years ago, Mabhida revealed.
“His and our group shared training space. We also used to do motivational talks at schools together,” the coach recalled.
For their efforts, Mthembu pocketed R660 000 in total earnings.
“Ours is more of a gentlemen’s agreement. It is up to the athlete [to reward me]. I want him to take care of himself and his family,” said Mabhida when asked about his share of the Comrades spoils.
“The last 30km [of the race on Sunday] was the point where I told Musa that ‘this race is yours’.”
Before Sunday, Mabhida’s notable successes were: Ndumiso Sokhela (10 000m 2015 champ), and Samukelisiwe Mthembu (200m runner-up at the Athletics SA Speed Series) in February.
Mabhida’s next big task is to prepare Michael Arthur and Michael Ford – the founders of Mthembu’s Arthur Ford Running Club – for the Berlin Marathon in September.