Waterfall City AC runner Zanele Maisa made a triumphant half-marathon debut when she won the women’s 21.1km race at the Benoni Northerns Athletic Club (BNAC) Marathon on April 13.
It wasn’t the baptism of fire the Kwa-Thema resident was expecting. In fact, it was a race that opened a new chapter for the athlete whose only experience in athletics includes track, cross-country and a handful of 10km races.
Having trained to participate in the 10km race, she only knew on the eve of the BNAC Marathon that she would instead run in the half-marathon. While it was a distance she wasn’t planning to tackle yet, it’s a challenge she accepted with open arms.
Maisa ran a perfect first half but the hill coming out of the Ebotse Golf and Country Estate was something she wasn’t prepared for and it was the beginning of a challenging period for the runner.
Sibongile Xoza.
“The first 10km was easy but I faced several challenges in the second half, but pushed myself to see what time I would take to complete the race,” she said.
The 29-year old negotiated her way up from the hilly section of the route to eventually come home alone in 01:26:25. Trail runner Marianne Semmelink was a distant second in 01:32:27. Tshegofatso Vocho rounded up the podium 35 seconds after Semmelink.
Although Maisa had planned a sub-01:20:00, she was pleased with her debut performance, saying she will take the lessons in her first year of road running after a successful period as a cross-country runner.
“I missed my target but I finished in 01:26:25, which is not bad. It shows I can improve and maybe I could also shave off the six minutes and do better in the future,” she said.
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In the men’s race, Mohau Rasogo of Impala Platinum clocked 01:08:24 for victory. Simphiwe Thombela and Lubabalo Xoza capped off a good afternoon for Waterfall as they finished second and third, respectively.
Thombela finished 19 seconds off the pace after crossing the line in 01:08:43, with Xoza rounding-up the podium in 01:10:39.
In the 10km race, Simonay Weitsz, holder of the Benoni Northerns Night Race women’s 10km record, clocked 40:05 for victory in the women’s race. Benoni Harriers’ Bronwyn Nel was second in 40:15, while Corlize Stoltz of Boxer was third in 40:58.
Fanuel Rasogo and Peter Mothubi shared the men’s top prize, with Mayibongwe Ndlovu second in 34:09 while Tembisa AC’s Desmond Mokgobu clinched the third spot in 34:46.
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