Bold Kelehe targets Comrades record
Former champ sets sights on record
As half of the Comrades Marathon entries were snapped up in the opening weekend, Gift Kelehe provided solid advice to those who want to participate in the famed ultra-marathon next year. “You have to start now [with training],” he told hundreds of runners gathered at Fat Cats club’s gala dinner on Friday evening. The North West policeman was the guest of honour at the event at Birchwood Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, to mark 15 years of the club’s existence. Kelehe, who won the 89km down run in 2015, added he was targeting a record in next year’s up-run after finishing ninth this year. But his reason for coming short a few months ago was hilarious.
“I had a runny tummy,” confessed the 36-year-old. “I had to go relieve myself in the bathroom while the likes of [eventual winner Bong’musa] Mthembu passed through. Usually we prepare our own food [before races], but for some reason this time we bought chicken from some outlet. Little did we know we were buying laxatives,” Kelehe said to loud laughter in the hall.
He said his body was accustomed to one diet – four slices of bread and tea– before long races, topped up with a shake midway through.
The brother to 2001 Comrades winner Andrew, Kelehe will go into an eightweek training camp ahead of the June 9 race, which begins at Durban City Hall and will finish in Pietermaritzburg, as he sets sights on Russian Leonid Shvetsov’s uprun record of 5.24.39, set in 2008. Meanwhile, organisers have announced that over half of the 25 000 Comrades entries had already been bought. “Fifty percent of the entry cap has already been attained with more than 12 500 entries received.
“The entry process will close on 10 December 2018 or as soon as the cap of 25 000 has been reached,” the organisers said in a statement.