'I've been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time' - Mathebula joins Hollywood

While it was the signing of Comrades Marathon champions Tete Dijana and Edward Mothibi that grabbed the headlines, many aspiring top runners would have been motivated by the Hollywood Athletic Club's decision to sign Thabang Mathebula. At 35 years old, Pietermaritzburg-based Mathebula signed his first professional running contract to join the Purple Team from Save Orion AC.

Mathebula has joined The Purple Team. Photo Credit: Supplied.

"I'm quite excited for 2026. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time. At some point I had given up. I never thought I would run at this level," said Mathebula who first gained prominence in 2024 when he improved on his marathon personal best by almost 40 minutes.

Since then the top runner who works full time as a Communication Officer at the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Higher Education and Training has lowered his 42,2km PB even further. From 2:27:27 achieved at the 2023 Durban International Marathon, Mathebula who originally hails from Phalaborwa in Limpopo where he competed over 1500m as a schoolboy, is now the owner of a 2:17:06 marathon personal best and a 1:04:49 21km lifetime best run in the wind and driving rain at last year's Nelson Mandela Bay Marathon. He says there is no secret to his recent success. Hard work has got him to the cusp of being an elite marathoner.

Mathebula poses with Hollywood AC Elite Manager Manfred Seidler who says they have signed Mathebula because they believe he has the potential to run a fast marathon in the short term while building him for long term Comrades Marathon success. Photo Credit: Supplied.

"After high school I moved to Pretoria and left running altogether. I then moved to Pietermaritzburg in 2015 and worked as a journalist. I started again five years ago when I met Delaine Cools who was the media officer at the Comrades Marathon Association. That made me look at running differently and I started again in 2021. But for the first two years I was just a sub 3 hour marathoner," he explained. 

"Thankfully I found someone like Wade Foster who saw something in me and revived it and for the last three years we’ve been working on it. I have a full time job but because I love running, I still find time to do it. My first break was my sub 2:30 in 2023 and then I won Durban City in 2024 in 2:19 and then last year I went back to Durban City and won it in 2:17. That made my very excited. That's what led to this moment," he told #TheTopRunner.

Mathebula and coach Foster say their target for 2026 is to produce a 2:13/2:13 marathon best. Photo Credit: Supplied.

With coach Foster in his corner, Mathebula now believes that he can ascend to the upper echelons of South Africa's elite 42,2km male performers. And while Hollywood are better known for their ultra marathon achievements, the lanky top runner who ran a Comrades PB of 5:55:59 in 2023, says he hasn't been put under any pressure to return to The Ultimate Human Race as he focuses on getting faster over the standard marathon first.

Mathebula wins the 2025 Durban City Marathon in a new lifetime best. Photo Credit: Durban City Marathon.

"I'm aiming to get close to 2:13 this year - 2:12 if possible. My first race would be around March but my main race of the year is the Durban International Marathon (3 May) because it’s quite fast. Thereafter I’ll focus on the 10km and 21km races and see which race I can go for at the end of the year because I’d like to run two 42km races this year."