'I don't rely on what people say about me but rather focus on what I can do' says winning Mulaudzi
Collen Mulaudzi destroyed a quality elite field as he produced scintillating time of 28:30 to claim the inaugural Hollywoodbets Durban Summer 10k race at the Kings Park Athletics Stadium in Durban on Sunday. The race which attracted 1 000 participants due to the Covid19 protocols had fast times which resulted to the top three runners dipping under 29 minutes. Malaudzi, who was the pre-race favorite has turned Durban into his happy hunting ground after he clocked 28:26 to come third in the Absa DURBAN 10k CITY RUN. The 30-year-old Venda born athlete was delighted with his performance.
"I'm happy with the way I ran on the day. The weather conditions were fine on the day and the race was fast from the start," explained the Boxer Athletics Club runner. "The time I came to Durban, I told myself that I need to enjoy myself. In my mind I never treated myself as the favourite to win the race. The race turned to be fast from the start and when we reached 5km it's where I started to believe that I can win it. I'm also happy with my time I clocked today," he told #TheTopRunner.
For Mulaudzi, failing to finish SA Half Marathon Championship in Gqeberha in May nearly broke his confidence but he managed to regroup to produce some encouraging runs in the second half of 2021.
" When I went to compete in SA Half Marathon, I had two things in my mind- it's either would run badly or won't finish the race," said the man who represented South Africa at the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships in Poland where he ran a personal best of 1:00:51. "I ended up not finishing the race and I nearly told my season is over. To come back and put in good performances was easy because I knew what I need to do. I don't rely on what people say about me but rather focus on what I can do. That something pushes me every day," he said.
Although most athletes are preparing to end their seasons, the man who trains with multiple SA Champion Stephen Mokoka hinted that he may race again before the end of the year. "We'll see, maybe it's my last race of the year, or perhaps you could see my name somewhere," he concluded.