Port Elizabeth road running star Melikhaya Frans will put his best foot forward when he takes to the streets of Summerstrand for the Nelson Mandela Bay SA Half Marathon Championships in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
This year’s event, which includes the CAA Southern Region championships in addition to a 5km fun run, is expected to offer some monumental battles as runners look to claim the prestigious title on the fastest 21.1km race course in the country.
“I am feeling great. I am healthy and my training has been going well,” Frans said.
“I would say I have met most of the small goals I’ve set for myself during my training block.
“So now it all comes down to race day.”
Frans, who finished fourth overall last year but still managed to clinch bronze provincially, said he was excited to see how his training plays out on the course. He ran a 1hr 1min 58sec time at last year’s event and is confident he can improve on that – and possibly dip under the one-hour mark.
“There are going to be a lot of strong runners coming to PE for this race,” Frans said.
“The likes of Precious Mashele, Namakhoe Nkhasi and other strong runners will be competing and I know they will be fit.
“So it will be a tough day out but I just want to focus on my own race.
“I want to try to stick to the front pack as much as I can.
“It would also be great if I can improve my time in the process.
“I can run 60 minutes and that is the target for the race this year.
“The only thing that would then come into play is the weather,” he said.
“Running at home is always great because the crowds are cheering you on all the way and I will be very happy if I can win the championships so the title can stay in PE.”Defending champion Stephen Mokoka, who won last year in 1:01:21, is expected to chase his eighth national title over the half-marathon distance after being included in the Athletics Gauteng North provincial team.
“If I can finish in 61 minutes I will be very happy,” he said.
An Athletics Central North West contingent featuring the likes of Thabang Mosiako, Joel Mmone and David Manja will also look to make their mark in the Bay.
Boasting tremendous depth, the Central Gauteng Athletics team should also put up a good fight, with the likes of Mashele, who earned the bronze medal last year, as well as gutsy front runner Lucky Mohale, consistent athletes Mbongeni Ngxazozo and Gladwin Mzazi and marathon specialists Desmond Mokgobu and Xolisa Tyali.
There will also be a strong contingent from Ethiopia, Lesotho and Kenya.
“The Nedbank Running Club has established clubs in other African countries like Ethiopia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Kenya and will be sending a strong contingent of top African athletes to race against the best athletes in South Africa,” Nedbank Running Club national manager Nick Bester said.
Action gets under way with the 21.1km road race at 7am while the fun run starts at 9am.
The elite field will have a total cash pool of R700,000 to compete for, with the overall winners taking home R80,000.
As an added incentive, if the first finisher is a South African, a R25,000 bonus will be awarded to the runner.