'It's a God-given talent' - Kamohelo Mofolo tells the story of how he coached himself to Absa 10K success
At barely 20 years old, Kamohelo Mofolo speaks with a maturity beyond his years. The young man from Lesotho delivered the performance of his fledgling career to date when he won the absa RUN YOUR CITY TSHWANE 10K in an impressive clocking of 28:40, which was just seven seconds outside the lifetime best he set just six weeks earlier when he claimed tenth position at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K in 28:33.
"I feel very happy indeed to win this race because I have wanted to win it for some time now. My training has been geared towards winning this race because I knew that the hilly course would favour me. I also ran 28:40 at the absa CAPE TOWN 10K and did it again here at the absa TSHWANE 10K which shows that my training has been going well since that PB in Durban," he said.
But what makes the Maxed Elite Running Club top runner's achievement even more special is that he has been self-coached for the better part of a year. Having started out as a middle distance athlete during his school days, Mofolo used the Covid-19 lockdown to train himself. He was then spotted by Ntate Motlatsi Rankapole who coached him for a time before sending the junior to Maseru to join ultra marathoner Teboho Noosi who in turn recommended he join renowned coach Andrew Booyens' training group in 2022.
"I started running in 2018 when I was in school. I represented Lesotho at a competition in Bostwana the following year where I won gold in the 1500m. Then when I started running seriously, I was coached by Ntate Andrew. I used to train with Neheng Khatala’s group. But I was struggling. The programme wasn't working for me. I sat down with coach Andrew and explained to him that his system wasn't working for me and that I wanted to leave the group and coach myself. He agreed."
That was October 2023. Mofolo would coach himself until July 2024 to remarkable success that included a podium finish at the Totalsports Two Oceans Half Marathon in April where he out-sprinted George Kusche to take second place (1:05:33) in a photo finish, sixth at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K and fourth place at the Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon in a personal best 1:04:06 where the driving rain and wind robbed him of a certain sub 62 clocking.
"Many people didn’t understand when I told them that I had decided to coach myself. I believe it's a talent God has given me. I’m able to look at a training programme and understand it immediately. I would always review my races to try and correct my mistakes. I also looked at our previous training programmes and realised that I lacked speed. I had pace, but not speed. So I added speed repetitions and fartlek sessions, which allowed me keep up with the South African athletes because they surge a lot during races," said the man who turns 20 on his next birthday.
The rest is history. His performances and mature approach to his athletic career caught the eye of American coach James McKirdy who coached his countryman, marathoner Tebello Ramakongoana to fourth place at the 2023 World Championships and seventh place at the recently concluded Paris Olympics. But Mofolo rebuked McKirdy’s initial advances, choosing to prove himself instead before joining the respected mentor.
"Tebello introduced me to Ntate James at the end of last year, but I decided to wait before going to him. I wanted to build my CV first and only join him once I felt that I was an accomplished runner. I joined him after running that PB in Durban so he could see that I am a serious athlete. Now I want to run some 10km and 21km races overseas. Coach James is the right person to help me achieve that."
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