'This is my first race after my mom passed' - Mavuso to honour mother at Sanlam Cape Town Marathon
When Bonginkosi Mavuso lines up for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon on the 15th of October he will have the biggest reason yet to deliver the performance of a lifetime. Last month, the Black Diamond Athletics Club runner lost his mother after short illness. As someone, who grew under the guidance of his single parent mother after losing his father at the tender age of four, Mavuso was hot hard by the loss. But rather than withdraw from his biggest race of the year, the 27-year-old will run in honour of his mother in the Mother City.
"This is the first race I'm going to do after my mother has died," he told #TheTopRunner. "It is going to be emotional for me as she has been my pillar of strength from ages. So I'm aiming to do my best to make her proud," explains Mavuso, who hails from Edumbe, near Vryheid in the North of KwaZulu-Natal.
"My mother supported my running career even though many parents wouldn't want their children to do sport on a full-time basis. She never complained after I realised early in my life that athletics lives inside me. So I will be forever grateful for all the assistance she gave it to me. So I intend not to disappoint her but continue to live up my dreams," he said.
On the road, Mavuso has enjoyed some fruitful results this year. He managed to place fifth in the Durban International Marathon clocking 2:17:46 against some best marathoners in the country. In May, he produced a decent time of 2:19 to take third spot overall in Harry Gwala Marathon, and in August he won the Savages 21km. The man who obtained a tenth spot in Cape Town last year with the lifetime best of 2:17:12 over the standard aarathon, is hungry to deliver a resounding performance.
" I'm a very good shape to run perfect come race day. My target is to run a new personal best time. It is achievable if you look at the field and the course there. I'm very optimistic that I can produce a great run. The podium will be a bonus to me. The most important thing is to improve as an athlete."
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