TAKING it as a big motivation for him to come out in 12th place when he started running the Comrades Marathon Sibusiso Kubheka.
It has become history that in the Comrades run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg last Sunday, new records were set. George Kusche of Nedbank Running Club won in a time of 5:15:56 for men, Gerda Steyn of Hollywood Athletics Club won for women in a time of 5:44:53.
Kubheka (27) of Xcel Running Club, who was running the Comrades for the first time, was a little behind in the top ten, finishing in 12th place with a time of 5:30:08. He was separated by a minute from Tebogo Pulusa of Dwarsrivier Mine Athletics Club who placed tenth with a time of 5:29:40.
Before Comrades, Xolani Mabhida, who is Kubheka’s coach, made it clear that this runner’s participation in this year’s race will not be to fight for victory but to learn from it before setting foot next year.
“Finishing in 12th place for the first time running Comrades means a lot to me, and I take it as a great motivation.
I think that in next year’s race I will know what I will have to work on and I will know what to expect in a race like this,” said Kubheka, who hails from Loskop, Mtshezi.
Kubheka made a splash in August last year when he won the Chasing 100 100km race in Italy, setting a record for being the first runner in the world to clock a time of 5:59:20.
On his return from the race in Italy, Kubeka went public with his desire to run in the Comrades for the first time in his life.
“What I have learned about Comrades is that it is a difficult race, with a great challenge, which requires you to be strong mentally as well as physically. There are many things that happen along the way when you run this race.
This year’s Comrades up run was very fast. I believe it was the fastest Comrades in history, so I learned a lot from it.
Next year in the down run I will learn what challenges the down run has compared to the up run because these races are not the same.
So I believe that next year I will do much better because I will know what to expect.”
Kubheka benefited from R48 400 from the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture in KwaZulu-Natal, for doing well in this race, following Jenet Mbhele who was awarded R77 000 for finishing among ten women.