Legends Road Runners dominate Seshego Marathon as Motseta smashes course record
Legends Road Runners dominated the 2026 Seshego ultra-marathon on Sunday, 11 October as Katlego Motseta and Puleng Khumalo won the men’s and women’s races respectively. Celebrating its fifth anniversary, the 50km race which is run between the Polokwane townships of Mankweng and Seshego saw a new course record in the men’s race as Motseta crossed the finish line in 2:46:59 to eclipse the mark of 2:51:15 run by former Two Oceans champion Givemore Mdziganyama during the first edition of the event in 2022.
Speaking to #TheTopRunner moments after his triumph, Motseta revealed that he had not intended to break the course record.
"My aim was to run 2:50 which I knew would be enough to win the race. The competition was tough so I had to push hard. I stayed behind the leading bunch and Msawenkosi Buthelezi during the first 15km. But after catching them, I realized that they were flat. Their pace dropped and I simply maintained my pace. Then when the hills came, I then left them behind because I am a strong hill climber. I left them at around 17km kilometres and then won the race easily."
Malusi Dlomo of Entiska Athletic Club claimed the runner-up position in 2:52:09 ahead of Buthelezi. The Barberton Mine AC top runner hung on to earn the final podium position in 2:52:45. Running in just his second ultra marathon after taking seventh position (3:09:25) at the Prince Mangosuthu 52km in August, the 22-year-old from Mokopane says this performance has given him a timely confidence before he makes his Totalsports Two Oceans debut next April.
“I’m happy because this is only my second ultra-marathon and I managed to produce such a good time. That’s good. It shows that even I can achieve a top three finish at Two Oceans. I know that I am still young, but I prefer long distances over short distances. I also want to inspire youngsters who focus on 10km and 21km and show them what is possible.”
Puleng Khumalo continued her sensational 2026 form as she completed the women’s race in 3:30:56 to claim the women’s top prize. Khumalo was 3 minutes 39 seconds behind Kenyan Jennifer Koech’s course record set in 2022. The 38-year-old former SA Marathon champion secured her third victory of the season after wins at the Tshwane North Ultra 50km in April and the MiWay Wally Hayward Marathon in May.
“I am very happy. It was a nice course. It was hot, but all in all I am very happy with the performance. I’m happy with my time. The target was 3:35, so to run 3:30:56 is very good. I just did what the coach said I must do because our plan was to run between 4:05 and 4:10 min/km. Maybe that’s why I was way ahead from the other ladies. I just went from the start and ran my own race. I never looked back.”
Khumalo dominated the race finishing more than 25 minutes ahead of runner-up Nyandano Manenzhe of Mzansi AC who clocked 3:56:26, while Polokwane AC’s Mancha Mothomogolo took third in 4:36:14.
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