Khatoane joins Mama Savages Marathon by chance

. . . Mandela Day Half Marathon cancelled

’MATHAPELO TAKISI

MASERU – Long distance runner Jobo Khatoane went to KwaZulu-Natal for the Mandela Day Half Marathon but ended up joined the Mama Savages Marathon after the former was cancelled.

Scheduled to take place on August 7, 2022, by the time the Mandela Day Half Marathon was cancelled Khatoane was already in KwaZulu-Natal so he decided to join the Supa Mama Savages Marathon scheduled for Sunday August 14. Khatoane pats himself on the back for what he called a good performance. He said the route they were using for the run is similar to mountainous Mokhotlong where it takes a lot of energy for a person to race.

“I take it that I ran very well because I managed to beat the time last year’s winner took, which was an hour and 12 minutes and I brought it down to an hour and eight minutes,” Khoatane said. This, however, was not his first half marathon this year as he had been running since January when he came out in First, Second and Third positions. He said the first race was in January at the Dischem Marathon where he came out in Position 3.

The Mama Savages Marathon race follows the Harry Gwala Marathon which he won on May 15 so he took this one as part of the preparations for City Matate Marathon that awaits him on September 11 in Matatiele. He will be defending his victory and it will be the fourth time for him to participate in the City Matate Marathon and, come October 16, he will also be defending his victory at the Mkhambathin marathon for the second time.

Reflecting on the Mama Savages Marathon, Khatoane told Public Eye that it was a largely open contest with many outsiders like him from countries like Zimbabwe and others. “After the marathon in October I will be looking forward to the Soweto marathon,” he said, adding that he will close with the Mokhotlong High Altitude Summer marathon which he is unsure if it will take place because he does not have any full details yet.

According to him, the registration process should have begun by this time but this year things are different and they have lost hope that it will happen. He ended up saying he will not be running in any other marathon before the forthcoming City Matate marathon but will, instead, be training and putting his focus on that race. He said he used the Mama Savage Half Marathon to prepare himself and correct some mistakes so he strongly believes he is fit enough to be highly competitive.