'I can't skip steps' - Tshite remains focused on the track despite 28:09 debut at Absa GQEBERHA 10K

Although it was Brenda Jepchirchir and Adriaan Wildschutt who grabbed the headlines on Sunday, 1 March, after their dominant victories at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA, a number of other athletes achieved notable milestones. In just his second year as a senior athlete, 20-year-old Zenzile Pheko claimed an impressive fifth place finish as he lowered his personal best from 29:41 to 28:44, while Lesotho’s Nthabiseng Lekotoko also came away with a new career best 33:26 as she took seventh position in the women’s race. 

But the perhaps the most eye-catching of all was of Olympic 1500m specialist Tshepo Tshite who delivered a remarkable performance, completing the race in 28:09 and securing third position overall against a high-quality field on debut. Speaking to #TheTopRunner after his determined run in windy conditions, the 29-year-old former SA 800m and 1500m champion said he was satisfied with the outcome because his main goal was simply to finish the race.

Tshite in action alongside veteran Stephen Mokoka of the Hollywood Athletic Club and Boxer AC's Zenzile Pheko. Photo Credit: Anthony Gröte.

"The wind was tough. From 1km to 6km, It wasn't that bad but in the last 4km, it was bad. My plan was to run the race without focusing too much on the other athletes. The plan was to go with the guys from the start regardless of the pace. That’s why I didn't take the stop watch or anything with me. The plan was to run 10km without focusing on splits or anything," he explained. 

"I'm feeling good. It was not bad because even though it was windy I'm glad with the results I obtained today. The most important thing was to try by all means to finish 10km since it was the first time racing the distance. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I also knew that if I run the way I prepared then I would start to feel the pain around the 6km mark. But luckily, I reached 6km feeling fresh and only started to feel the pain around 8km. That shows me that I'm strong," explains Tshite who is the SA 1500m record holder both indoors (3:35.06) and outdoors (3:31.35).

Tshite impressed with a podium finish in his first 10km race. Photo Credit: Stillwater Sports.

His world-class 10km debut has tongues wagging about the possibility of the Phantane AC top runner making a permanent move to the road. But Tshite who trains under the guidance of middle distance coach Samuel Sepeng is is no hurry to make the switch to road running. The man who broke the  SA 3000m indoor record (7:36.90) last month feels it is important for athletes to go through every phase of athletics. He says he still has more running to do on the track. 

"The plan this year was to run only one 10km event which was the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K. Maybe next year I'll do two. Then in the third year (2028), I’ll make my transition to the road. I want to build gradually without skipping any steps. That why I started from 800m then I moved to 1 500m. Most athletes focus on money because road running has more money without realizing that the ten years you have in athletics can be shortened by injury to five years because you jumped steps. Its the same in school, you start at Grade R up until Grade 12. So I can't jump the steps," he concluded.