'Hard work, a positive mindset and knowing what you want' - 51-year-old Charles Tjiane targets top ten at City2City

After claiming seventeenth place at yesterday's Exxaro Road Race Challenge and sixth place overall at the Waterfall City Half Marathon today, Charles Tjiane is satisfied that he is ready to match the best finish of his career at next weekend's City2City Marathon. While that my not mean much to the average top runner, it is a mark of his incredible longevity that 51-year-old Tjiane still feels fit enough to target a top ten finish at one of the country’s most competitive 50km races.

"I'm happy to finish as the first Master and sixth overall today (21 September). It was part of my preparation for City2City so I'm not too worried about the time. The big one is City2City where I want to claim a top ten overall," he told #TheTopRunner after clocking 1:15:24 at the very hilly Waterfall City Half Marathon, a day after running 1:12:58 in the 21km event at the Exxaro Road Race in Tshwane.

Tjiane finishing the Exxaro Road Race 21km in a quick 1:12:58 on 20 September. Photo Credit: SMacPix.

Tjiane who earned his first Comrades Marathon gold medal in 2009 and last one as recently as 2022, continues to excel more than two decades after first bursting onto the scene running the colours of Gauteng Striders. Sharing the secret to his success, the five-time Comrades Marathon gold medalist says he prides himself on hard work. 

"This thing is all about hard work, a positive mindset and knowing what you want. There's nothing worth achieving that comes easy. If you don’t have a target it's difficult to succeed. So when you have a target it's easier to take the pain with the understanding that you are not the only one feeling it. You sacrifice and ignore the pain in order to get where you are going."

Tjiane also finished as the first Master at the Waterfall City Half Marathon. Photo Credit: SMacPix.

Armed with the attitude, the Limpopo-born, Alexandra Township based Maxed Elite AC top runner has found that he still has speed to go with his endurance. Just this season for example, Tjiane not only ran a season’s best 32:07 for 10km at the hilly Absa RUN YOUR CITY TSHWANE 10K on 24 August, he also emerged as the overall winner of the Loskop 50km Marathon, leaving him confident ahead of City2City on 28 September.

"I wish other races could learn from city2City by looking after age group contenders the way they do. It doesn't mean that once you are 40 or 50 years old then it’s over for you. Let other races also add a bit of prize money for this categories, so that one can at least buy a pair of running shoes with the winnings. It's so painful to win a race and then you can't even afford to buy a pair of running shoes. That's why I like City2City because there is R10 000 on offer for us. I have finished in sixth position a few times there, so this year I'm targeting sub 2:55 which should give me top ten."