'I want a huge PB at SA 21km' Mosiako turns attention to NMB Half Marathon after new 10km PB in CT
Written off by some as a nearly man, Thabang Mosiako is beginning to show the form he did when he took track and road by storm in 2017 and 2018. The 27-year old set a new 10km personal best when he finished Sunday's Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10k in 28:43 for ninth place. That performance was a third lifetime best set in a period of ten months where he has started to look like the runner he was when he won the SA 5000m title in 2017. Mosiako credits coach Mike Mbambani for his resurgent form saying moving away from Gauteng to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has been good for him.
"To be honest we are going very well with my coach and the group," he told #TheTopRunner moments after smashing his 10km PB by 13 seconds. "The life is great because we wake up in athletics, we sleep in athletics, we talk athletics - everything is athletics there. We are at a farm in a camp there, so we are far from everything and we are so focussed there," explained the Boxer Athletic Club top runner.
Removed from the distractions of the big city, the man who won the 2018 Tembisa Street Mile 10km has been able to work on himself and the results have started to show. A 45:11 15km personal best in Gqberha last October was followed by a brave run in the 5000m at the ASA Senior Track and Field Championships where he lead the race and even though he finished fifth, he ran under 14 minutes (13:58.64) for the first time.
Mosiako says training alongside Eastern Province 5000m record holder (13:44.09) Melikhaya Frans has been good for him because it was Frans who ran alongside him in The Mother City to make sure that he secured only the second sub 29 minute 10km clocking of his career. "I'm with my strong training mate Melikhaya Frans. Everyone knows him - he's mister 28 minutes. The race was very good, just that the last 2km I struggled a bit. But I'm happy with the results because I managed to run my PB," he smiled.
Armed with new 15km, 10km and 5000m personal bests, Mosiako is now aiming to produce what he describes as a 'huge' PB over the half marathon. Having dipped under 62 minutes when he ran 1:01:59 at the 2018 SA Half Marathon Championships, the 27-year old is confident of going even faster at this year's Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon which doubles as the ASA Half Marathon National Championships.
The man who hails from the Northwest Province is pumped up to give a good performance especially now that he will be running his best distance in his adopted hometown. "We are pushing towards the SA 21km. I'm hoping to see good results at the SA 21km because all the hard work we are doing now is for the SA 21km. We've been checking times and I want a huge PB at the SA 21km. So probably I will do so. Everything will go well," he concluded.
The race, which takes place at Pollok Beach in Summerstrand on June 4 holds World Athletics Elite Label status. EPA is gearing up for approximately 1500 athletes. At stake is not only the South African title, but also valuable World Athletics Ranking points and an
enticing R80 000 for first prize and a total prize pot of R277 500. In addition, South African athletes will be vying for the lucrative ASA Championship prizes totalling R152 100, which includes R15 000 for the first South African male and female to finish the ASA Half Marathon Championships. Closing date for online and manual entries will be on Saturday, 21 May 2022. Enter HERE.
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