The accolades continue to roll in for Johannes Mosehla after his record-breaking run in the Comrades Marathon last month where the man from Limpopo became the oldest man at 81 to complete the world-famous KwaZulu-Natal ultra.
The latest honour for the soft-spoken old man who ran an impressive 9 hrs 26 min 10 sec to dethrone the legendary Wally Hayward as the oldest finisher, will see his name emblazoned on all the medals of the five-in-one SA Run4Cancer Marathon scheduled for October 28 in Polokwane.
At the media conference to launch the race, whose flagship event is the 48km Comrades qualifier, Mosehla was his nonchalant self as he accepted the honour that he quickly shared with everyone.
“This is not about me. This medal is for all the runners of South Africa because it is they who will be receiving them at the race,” he said.
“Of course I am delighted and proud, and I accept this big honour from SA Run4Cancer. They’ve not just done it for me but for the children of this country because I am encouraging the younger ones to get to where I have.”
It is a fantastic place he has got to. Mosehla set a record that is likely to outlive him. For a long time before that historic Sunday back on June 11, few would have imagined Hayward’s status as the oldest man to finish the Comrades being challenged. A legend of the race having won it five times, Hayward returned to run Comrades just before his 80th birthday in 1988 and finished it in 9:44. He ran it one last time the following year just before turning 81 and completed the race with just a minute and 57 seconds to spare before the official final cut-off.
For more than three decades no-one came close to unseating Hayward. Then Mosehla came along.
Now he has captured the imagination of the country and earned himself legendary status, one might have imagined Mosehla would saunter into the sunset delighted to have marked the occasion of his 10th running of the Comrades Marathon making history. Not only did he unseat Hayward as the oldest finisher that day, he also beat his time and got his green number, awarded to anyone who completes the race 10 times.
But the former bricklayer still wants more.
“I’ve done it all here in South Africa. I remember running the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in 2016 and Helen Zille asking me why I would travel so far just for a race. I told her I am the ‘Bull of Limpopo’ and I’d gone there to compete with the other bulls from all over the country.
“Now, I know that the world is aware of me because of what I did at Comrades. The next step is to go out there and compete in the world. My big dream is to go and run the New York Marathon and London Marathon, to challenge the bulls from all over the world.”
Mosehla’s dream could well remain just that, though. After all, the pensioner who runs for the Polokwane Athletics Club has no sponsor and funds his travels around the country from his own pocket.
You need to know where you sleep, don’t just sleep everywhere. The challenge for most young men is that sleep around as if they are animals. That messes your body and you can’t be a sports man who lasts if you do that.
— Johannes Mosehla
“I am still hopeful I will get a sponsorship. I’ve been speaking to the local mines because they are on our grandparents’ land, they have taken over our grandparents’ graves. When I spoke to them they asked me to write a proposal, but I did not have any good records then. Now that I’ve done this [the Comrades record], they should help me.”
That Mosehla is still going as strong, he explains, is because he is blessed and has lived a clean life from an early age.
“I’ve lived this long and am able to run as I do because it is a gift from Jesus Christ. Also, good behaviour has helped me. You need to know where you sleep, don’t just sleep everywhere. The challenge for most young men is that sleep around as if they are animals. That messes your body and you can’t be a sportsman who lasts if you do that.
“Also what you put into your body is important. I’ve never drunk alcohol in my life because sometimes when you are drunk you don’t know where you are sleeping or who you are sleeping with.”
That he has managed to be disciplined away from sport, Mosehla said, is because he was blessed to be baptised in the ZCC (Zion Christian Church) St Engenas at an early age. “I went into that church as a young man and found that they were against smoking and drinking. That helped me and made it easier for me as a sportsman and to help preserve my body to get me to where it has.”
Mosehla has no plans to quit running any time soon.
“I plan to continue running, and I will run until my body tells me I can’t do it any more. For this year I am registered to run a few races — in July there’s the race in Phalaborwa [Foskor Marathon] and then I will run the Knysna Marathon and Sanlam [Cape Town] too.”
Then there’s the Run4Cancer Ultra that will serve as his celebration party with all the medals — the 48km platinum; 32km gold; 21.1km silver as well as the 10km and 5km bronze — carrying his name.
What an honour for a deserving legend. But the honour that will be more fitting is for him, is to secure the kind of sponsorship to help him with his running.
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