NKOSIKHONA Mhlakwana has a busy February ahead of him as he seeks to run a qualifying time for the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon.
The distance running sensation has been named as the Brand Ambassador of the popular Best of Best Marathon where he will be on pacing duties.
Mhlakwana, who raced Ethiopia’s Edendale Belachew to the line in the 2022 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon, missing out on gold by a mere 4- seconds, is looking for a solid build up to this year’s race. The first step is to get qualification for the race under his belt and to this end, he will be lining up at the Bekizwe Joseph Shabalala Marathon on 11 February. Mhlakwana, who boasts a marathon best of 2:16.33 will be using the race as a tester of his current fitness.
“I have been training hard and I am excited to be back on the road in a race. I will be using the Bekizwe Joseph Shabalala Marathon to test my shape and to see how to continue my preparations for the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon,” said Mhlakwana. “I so narrowly missed out on a win at my maiden Oceans, I am hungry to go better. Bekizwe Joseph Shabalala Marathon will show me where I am at and what I need to do to achieve my goals.”
Once his qualification is in the bag, Mhlakwana will be looking to help other athletes get their Comrades and Two Oceans qualifiers by doing pacing duties at the Best of Best Marathon on 26 February 2023. He will be flying the Purple Flag high and helping runners who are targeting a sub 3-hour time.
Mhlakwana had his best year to date in 2022 by running a mere 4 seconds off his marathon best at the 2022 Best of Best Marathon (2:16.37), finishing second in that titanic Two Oceans duel and crossing the line in 6th at the 2022 Comrades Marathon. For his spectacular 2022, Nkosikhona Mhlakwana earned the Athlete of the Year Award from Hollywood Athletics Club. An honour he cherishes. His rapid rise in athletics circles has made him a household name in KwaZulu-Natal and he is deeply cognisant of his impact in the province on local runners.
“I am honoured for this opportunity to help other athletes to better their times on the road and improve their performances. On the day we will be looking to run times for the sub A and B categories, which are 3 hours and 3 hours 15 minutes”, Nkosikhona said
“Nkosikhona has developed so rapidly in the past two years as an athlete. It really is quite an honour for us Hollywood Athletics Club to have an athlete of this caliber running for us. Giving back is part of the Hollywood credo and his contribution to aiding other runners in achieving their targets speaks volumes of his character”, said Manfred Seidler, Club Manager
