Bongmusa Mthembu is training bliksem hard but unsure if he'll do virtual Comrades

10 June 2020 - 17:12 By Cebelihle Bhengu
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Bongmusa Mthembu celebrates winning the 2018 Comrades Marathon on June 10 2018 in a time of 5:26:39.
Bongmusa Mthembu celebrates winning the 2018 Comrades Marathon on June 10 2018 in a time of 5:26:39.
Image: Twitter/@ComradesRace

Three-time Comrades Marathon champion Bongmusa Mthembu is still considering whether he should register for “Race the Comrades Legends”, a virtual race organised by the Comrades Marathon Association, taking place on June 14.

Speaking to TimesLIVE on Wednesday, Mthembu said when the annual event was cancelled in May due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, he was disappointed but decided to continue training to maintain his physical fitness and mental strength.

“I guess I didn't think much about what would happen after the cancellation of the annual race. Now I'm just doing my own thing, keeping fit because my body and mind know that around this time of the year, we train and prepare for the race.”

“Race the Comrades Legends” will allow participants, who are not limited to professional athletes, to virtually compete with Comrades legends including Samuel Tshabalala, Bruce Fordyce and Frith van der Merwe.

Mthembu says he only recently found out about the virtual race and still doesn't have all the details.

“When I eventually heard about it, I thought it was only for legends. I didn't think that I qualified considering I'm still an active athlete. I'll decide soon if I will register for the race or if I will do my own thing on the day of the race, or on the day before. At this point, I'm still unsure.”

Here's a glimpse into Mthembu's training:


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