'Comrades is my main race' - Mqhele to use Peninsula for Two Oceans prep as he eyes Comrades success
- Thathe Msimango
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Nedbank Running Club elite athlete Sthembiso Mqhele will commence his season with the Balwin Run Series Peninsula Marathon scheduled to take place on Sunday, 15 February in Cape Town. Mqhele who used to call The Mother City home when he lived in Phillipi, has fond memories of the race where took third place last year and won in 2022. Now living in KwaZulu-Natal, the three-time Two Oceans gold medalist says he has been training in the Underberg Mountains to get ready for the 42km race from when the 42km race from Green Point to the Simon’s Town Naval Base which he regards as an important stepping stone towards a good performance at the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon on 11 April.
"Yes, I'm going to participate in the Peninsula race. This race has been one of those that I usually start the year with. When I was staying in the Western Cape, many runners were taking part and loving the race. Even my former club (Murray & Robert's Running club) would send a huge number of athletes to the race which made me fall in love with the race," said Mqhele who is coached by Mthandeni Nene.
"I'll use the race as part of my Two Oceans Marathon preparation as I'm aiming for a top ten finish. In the past, most runners who have done well in the race went on to perform well Two Oceans. The strategy has worked for me in the past and I'm going to keep it that way," explains Mqhele hinting at his 2025 results where he claimed third place at the Peninsula Marathon which doubled as the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Marathon Championships and then went on to clock 3:14:14 at the World’s Most beautiful Marathon to claim eighth position.
Mqhele is poised to face intense competition from his Green Machine teammates, including Lloyd Bosman, the 2024 titleholder, and George Kusche, who set a new course record (1:05:32) on the way to victory at the hilly Biogen Half-Marathon just outside Johannesburg last month.Â
Yet Mqhele, a native of Xhorha in the Eastern Cape, is unconcerned about his opposition reasoning that both the Peninsula Marathon and the Two Oceans 56km are part of his broader build up to the Comrades Marathon. The 34-year-old produced a gritty and spirited 5:42:11 performance to finish in 13th overall at last year’s Ultimate Human Race and wants to taste gold for the first time at South Africas most celebrated ultra marathon.
"I'm going to run Two Oceans this year but my main race remains Comrades. Last year, I made a huge mistake by allowing the leading bunch to get out of my sight before the halfway mark which cost me my chance to finish in the top ten. Remember, I finished last year's Two Oceans cramping after I ran the first half hard. So when I went to Comrades, I thought let's change the strategy and run the second half hard. In the end, it backfired. I think that experience was a learning curve as I'm still growing as the Comrades runner. I'll come this year more prepared with ambitions to finish inside top 10," he concluded.