Up-runners look to Moshiywa
ALL the focus, and rightly so, has fallen on athletes who have made their mark on the Comrades Marathon down run.
Claude Moshiywa is not one of them, but he holds the heralded distinction of being the first South African up-run winner since Jetman Msutu in 1992.
While his 2013 run was torturous and groundbreaking at the same time, it was also meaningful.
It showed that South African athletes are not flashes in the pan as his win followed on the heels of Ludwick Mamabolo’s down run win the year before.
He may not be seen as a favourite ahead of Sunday’s run, but he feels he should not be discounted.
“I’ve been training since the festive season and my body and my mind are in great shape.
“I can feel I’ll do better this year than in the past two races.
“You have to believe in yourself and everyone wants to win. I also want to win.
“I won’t be in a position to be looking after the guys. I’ll be looking after myself and doing what I’ve been doing,” Moshiywa said.
“I’m not targeting a specific time, but I hope I will be able to run something close to five hours 26 minutes.
“Then again, the Comrades is one race you don’t like losing.
“Even if you’re injured, there’s the urge still to take part because of the camaraderie.”
There are no changes to the 89.1km race, which was slightly longer last year due to roadworks in Pinetown.
While all eyes may be on the elite athletes and the competitive nature of the men’s and women’s top 10 races give the race an interesting edge, the number of Comrades novices is startling.
Of the 18 000-plus runners who have qualified, 7 500 are firsttime runners – a number that surprised Comrades general manager Chris Fisher.
“The nice thing about having so many novice runners is that it brings down the average age of the athletes.
“But it’s also a message that the novices had the fastest finger first and beat the older runners to the [entry] line.
“It’s a great sign for the future.”
‘ I can feel I’ll do better this year