'I want another gold medal' - Jenet Mbhele on track for 3rd consecutive Comrades gold

With the 98th edition of the Comrades Marathon just a few days away, Jenet Mbhele returns to the race eager to produce another top class performance. Since the century old race first opened its doors to female runners in 1975, Mbhele is the only black woman to have earned back-to-back gold medals. On debut in 2023, Mbhele put out a fine performance of 6:27:13 to cross the finish line at the Kingsmead Stadium in tenth position and then upgraded her position to eighth with the amazing 6:16:54 during last year’s Up Run. Now returning into the race, the 30-year-old former South African Marathon Champion will be a huge favourite to extend her record to three consecutive gold medals. 

"I'm on track to perform well at the Comrades Marathon. I think I'll run the race with the belief that I'm going to do well. The training has gone quite well too to get ready for the big day. It's just that when it's comes to Comrades, you can't be certain because there are lot of things that can happen on a race day," said Mbhele, who hails from Umzikhulu on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.

Mbhele earning a Comrades Marathon medal on debut during the 2023 Down Run. Photo Credit: Supplied.

Yet despite how well has training has gone, the lead up to the 8th of June has not been without it's challenges. In March, Mbhele parted ways with the Xcel Running Club to rejoin Umzikhulu Striders. But the woman was part of the South African team that competed at the 2018 World Half-Marathon Championships in Valencia, Spain, is adamant that the move did not unsettle her Comrades preparations because she is still working with the same coach Thami Khuboni, who has guided since before started running ultra marathons.

"I don't think changing clubs had much of an impact on me,” she told #TheTopRunner. “It was only about changing the colours. I'm still working with the same coach and I'm following the same program," explained the top runner who is the holder of a 2:37:07 standard marathon lifetime best.

Mbhele poses with her rose after winning her second Comrades Marathon gold medal during the 2024 Up Run. Photo Credit: Xcel Running Club.

This year that training programme to ready her for the 89.98km Down Run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban has been slightly different. After deciding to skip the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon despite finishing the 2024 race in fourth overall in 3:41:08, Mbhele raced the Harry Gwala Marathon where she finished as the runner-up in 2:49:58. Then last month, she tackled a hilly and challenging Prince Mangosuthu 52km race, where she was second in 3:33:36. 

"I think after running Prince Mangosuthu 52km race where I managed to finish while still feeling comfortable was a good indication that my training has gone well. The only thing I'm wishing for at the moment is to obtain another gold medal. For the past two races, I have performed exceptionally by getting back-to-back gold medals, so I want another one," she concluded.