For someone who finished a close second in his maiden Two Oceans Marathon, Nkosikhona Mhlakwana has gone to great lengths, and serious heights, in his quest for the top podium position this time around.
The Hollywood Athletics Club star, beaten into second place by just three seconds in a sprint finish with Ethiopian Edendale Belachew of Maxed Elite, is eager to do better than last year in Saturday’s 56km Mother City ultra.
And while he and his coach Prodigal Khumalo have said they did not change much from last year’s training, the reality is they have put a huge effort into ensuring Mhlakwana is in top shape to improve on his 3:09:08 in 2022.
Mhlakwana has spent six weeks training in the high altitude mountains of his mother’s native country Lesotho before completing his preparations with a two-week camp in Underberg.
Coach and athlete say the training was intense and they are counting down to Saturday to see “Pitbull” take a bite at Two Oceans Marathon glory. But being the humble duo they are, neither Mhlakwana nor Khumalo was willing to talk about victory as the goal.
“He is much stronger than last year,” Khumalo said. “He ran a 2:18 marathon on a very tough course [in Ladysmith] at the beginning of the year and did it with less effort.
There are going to be lots of good runners from here at home, Kenya, Ethiopia and Lesotho, so the focus cannot only be on me. There are always going to be surprises in a race like this and I know I also want to spring a surprise of my own. I am ready to challenge them just as much as I know they will be challenging me, and that’s what people want in big races like this one — entertainment
— Nkosikhona Mhlakwana
“And after the Lesotho camp, where we spent six weeks before we went to Underberg for two more weeks to polish up on everything, our plan is to build on last year’s performance. We didn't change much from last year because he did nothing wrong then.
“For us, last year was as good as a win because he was doing the race for the first time and for him to finish in the position he did, the way he did, we were delighted,” he said.
“Last year I was beaten by just three seconds. I have improved my training and am blessed because I am coached by the best coach in Prodigal Khumalo. And this time I had a longer time in camp out in the mountains training in another country. All that is left is for me is to go out there and do the best I can do,” Mhlakwana said.
Khumalo chimed in: “He is very confident going to the weekend’s race and he will take everything as it comes according to what we have planned. If there are any athletes who are stronger than us, there is nothing we can do. But we know we have to be flexible depending on how the race tactics and competition pan out.”
Never one to speak up his chances, Mhlakwana was careful not to say anything that would put him under undue pressure, despite his showing last year making him a firm favourite for victory.
“I am not saying I will win the race,” he responded when asked what it will take for him to be victorious on Saturday. “But when you have worked hard and prepared you need to expect that anything is possible. I have no injuries and I am ready to do my best and improve my time and be happy with the result.”
Improving his time is sure to see him end up on the podium, with many of the top local runners usually using the Two Oceans as training for the bigger Comrades Marathon. Mhlakwana also has his sights on the Comrades, having finished sixth last year. But he is such a competitive athlete he will not hold back to preserve himself for the world famous KwaZulu-Natal ultra in June.
But nothing makes a competitive athlete happier than getting to the finish line ahead of everybody else, being the one to breast that tape. And Mhlakwana, a qualified teacher who has chosen to focus on his running instead of standing in front of pupils, knows that feeling, having won numerous races and beaten some of the top athletes who will be toeing the line in the Mother City on Saturday.
The Two Oceans, though, is a highly popular race that often attracts the best ultra athletes in the country and other top-class internationals. That means no-one can take victory for granted, not even if you have had the greatest of training camps, as Mhlakwana has.
“There are going to be lots of good runners from here at home, Kenya, Ethiopia and Lesotho, so the focus cannot only be on me. There are always going to be surprises in a race like this and I know I also want to spring a surprise of my own. I am ready to challenge them just as much as I know they will be challenging me, and that’s what people want in big races like this one — entertainment.”
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