'I can run any distance' - Khonkhobe eyes Soweto Marathon duel vs Mokoka & Seutloali after bronze & PB at SA 10km champs

Of all the athletes you could have picked to finish on the podium at the Athletics South Africa (ASA) 10km Championships in Bloemfontein on Saturday 15 November, you would have been hard pressed to select Onalenna Khonkhobe as one of your medal favourites. Yet that’s exactly what the reigning Prince Mangosuthu 52km and 2024 Totalsports Two Oceans Ultra Marathon champion did.

Running in the colours of Athletics Central North West (ACNW) against a host of 10km specialists, Khonkhobe produced a personal best 29:07 to grab the bronze medal behind the improving Msawenkosi Mnisi of Athletics Gauteng North (29:00) and Central Gauteng's Chris Mhlanga who out sprinted Mnisi at the finish line (29:00) to earn a maiden SA title. 

Khonkhobe smiles after claiming his first SA 10km championships medal. Photo Credit: CGA Media.

But it was the marathon and ultra marathoner’s performance that raised the most eyebrows. Coming on the back of his bronze medal at the SA Half Marathon Championships in Phalaborwa (1:04:07) in July and a silver medal in national colours at last month's the Region 5 Half Marathon in Tshwane, the man who won the City2City 50km race on 28 September has left critics shaking their heads in dismay. Their displeasure stems mainly from the fact that most believe that were Khonkhobe to focus exclusively on 10km, 21km and the standard marathon distance then he could be a world class 42km performer. But Khonkhobe, who is yet to break 2:15 for the marathon, sees things differently.

"The thing is that I believe in myself. When I train for a particular race, my training becomes septic to that distance," explained the Klerksdorp based Nedbank Running Club top runner who is coached by Piou Mpolokeng. "I also want to run 2:07 or 2:06 one day. It’s not a problem. I have a lot of speed in my legs and it’s natural speed. I can run any distance."

"The key is your mindset. For example, when we are running an ultra and there are 60 of us in the lead group, I start to think about what will happen. That can be scary. So in order not to stress myself, I put those thoughts out of my mind. It's exactly the same as running ultras and half marathons and 10km races - it's all about mindset."

Crowd favourite Khonkhobe celebrates victory at the 2024 Africanbank Soweto Marathon. Photo Credit: Tobias Ginsberg.

The man affectionately known as the Head of The Table will have to make sure that his mindset is at its toughest when he lines up to defend his Africanbank Soweto Marathon title on 29 November. With last year’s runner-up and reigning Two Oceans champion Joseph Seutloali and 2:06 marathoner Stephen Mokoka expected to be at the start, they'll be watching his every move. Khonkhobe will be relying on his trademark finishing kick that saw him break Seutloali's heart during the 2024 edition of The People's Race.

"It was like that at the Prince Mangosuthu race. They were all watching me. With 8km to go, there were more than 50 of us in the lead bunch. It was tough. I could see that everyone wanted that R150 000. Luckily I sprinted away from them in the last 2km."