Uitenhage star ready to take on top runners at IAAF champs in Spain

Uitenhage road running hero Melikhaya Frans will be aiming for top honours when he takes on the world’s best runners at the IAAF/Trinidad Alfonso World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 this weekend. The Ikhamva Athletics Club runner will be part of a 10member South African team descending on the streets of Valencia, Spain, for the championships as they look to make their mark on the world stage. This will be Frans’s first competition wearing the green and gold, having received a call up last year but later withdrawing to participate in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, where he finished in 10th position overall. Frans, 28, only found out about his selection in February, after posting some stellar results at various events both in the metro and around the country. Among these results was his ninth place at the SA Championships in Nelspruit, where he ran a 30.04 in the 10km event in November. Other results included a 10th position at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in a time of 2 hrs, 15 mins and 41 secs in September, and achieving fourth place at the Athletics SA Half Marathon championships in the metro in June. “It is always an honour to pull on the colours of your country – to know that the pride of a nation rests on our shoulders is just added motivation for me to do well,” he said. Excited at the prospect of running alongside the world’s best road runners, Frans said the experience would be something he would cherish for a long time, but admitted it was also a chance for him to survey the running style of the international athletes and pick up any tips along the way.

“My training for the championships started in December. I have been putting in the hard work, working on various aspects of my running and I believe I am ready and my body is feeling great. “I am ready to race and I want to bring home a gold medal – it would be a very proud moment for me and for the country if that were to happen,” Frans said. Valencia will welcome more than 15 000 runners from 87 countries for the race festivities. A record entry of 300 athletes will contest the elite race. Non-elite runners will have the opportunity to run alongside some of the world’s greatest distance athletes on a spectacular course. The 21.1km course was specially designed for the championships and it provides a quick route along wide avenues without any sharp bends. Asked about his teammates, Frans said they included strong runners who had been working hard to get into shape for the championships, and he believed the team has what it takes to come up trumps in the Spanish streets. SA team travelling to Spain: Men: Stephen Mokoka, Elroy Gelant, Precious Mashele, Mbongeni Ngxazozo and Melikhaya Frans. Women: Cornelia Joubert, Mapaseka Makhanya, Nolene Conrad, Lebogang Phalula, and Jenet Dlamini.