'Our target is the gold medal' - Tshangase ready to make KZNA debut at SA Marathon Champs
During last year's edition of the iconic Africanbank Soweto Marathon, Sinethemba Tshangase surprised many pundits by reaching the halfway mark leading the race alongside Comrades Marathon gold medalist Nkosikhona Mhlakwana. Despite running well in the early stages though, Tshangase's lack of experience in big races saw his challenge fade as fatigue caught up with him. He ended up finishing in 30th place in 2:29:41. Yet the 26-year-old Nedbank Running Club runner doesn't regret on how that day unfolded last November.
"I don't regret with how things ended up in Soweto," he told #TheTopRunner. "I thought I was in shape to run the race of my career against a quality field of athletes. I fought hard on the day but in the closing stages all my energy dried up. I tried by all means to deliver my best performance but clearly it wasn't to be. At the end of the day, it was a learning experience that will benefit me in the future as I'm still new to the marathon distance," said Tshangase reflecting on his Soweto Marathon performance.
Just three weeks after that sobering run at The People's Race, Tshangase went on to challenge a hilly and tough Drankersberg Marathon. He produced a remarkable 2:15:47 personal best time over standard Marathon to brush off the Soweto disappointments. "I was happy to win that race as I went there without any expectations. Plus I just came from Soweto which was quite challenging," explains, the man who hails from Umzikhulu, South of KwaZulu-Natal.
"It was an unexpected but exciting moment. I didn't have a first good half but after halfway I managed to pick up and accelerated to victory. Getting a new personal best time meant a lot to me. It indicated that if I can continue to work hard, more good performances will come my way. To finish the year strong gives you confidence when you start preparing for the following year."
In total, Tshangase enjoyed a splendid 2024 year managing to dip under 30 minutes over 10km when he clocked a personal best 29:47 during the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km race in September. He further ran a lifetime best of 64 minutes over 21km. With these performances, he has been rewarded with a call up to represent KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) at the upcoming Athletics South Africa Marathon Championship in Cape Town where he intends to do his province proud.
"It feels good that I'll be wearing provincial colours for the first time in my career. Last year, I was supposed to run the Marathon Championship for the province (during the Durban International Marathon) but it ended up not happening because I was injured," said the man coached by Mthandeni Nene. "So this is a good opportunity to assist the province to perform well. I think our target is to obtain a gold medal, but if that doesn't happen then we will take other medals. I'm putting my team first here. If I manage to run a PB, it would be a huge bonus."
Commentaires