Masango defends Otty Nxumalo Marathon title
Derrick Masango produced a spirited comeback to win the Otty Nxumalo Marathon at Cecil Emmett Cricket Ground in Vryheid this morning (3 October). The marathon, which is hosted by Inkamana Athletics Club and is named after prominent Zulu author Professor Otty Nxumalo, drew almost 1000 participants for the second edition of the race which featured 42km, 21km, 10km and 5km races. Good reviews from last year’s inaugural event coupled with a R17 000 winners purse drew more top runners for the full marathon, leaving Masango under pressure to denied the title he won in 2025.
Masango was immediately on the back foot after Lindelani Mjwara of the Hollywood Athletics Club opened a significant gap during the first half of the race. However, the 35-year-old remained composed and gradually closed a gap of over 200m before overtaking Mjwara at around the 30km mark. From that point, Masango never looked back, as he increased the pace to secure victory in 2:25:16.
"I'm happy to win the race. It was challenging as there were more hills compared to the route from last year," said Masango, who is coached by Sandile Mthembu. "After Mjwara opened the gap, I wasn’t worried at all about him. Coming into the race, my plan was to stick to my race plan which was based on my training. My plan here was to run 2 hours 25 minutes or faster, which I managed to do. So overall, I’m happy to have successfully defended the title."
Mjwara finished in a close second in 2:25:44 to earn R8,500, while Maxed Elite athlete Lithlokoa Khoete completed the podium in 2:30:07.
Khoete also produced a strong late surge, as he overtook three athletes in the final 3km to secure third place. Masango, who runs in the colours of Harambee Athletics Club, will now turn his attention to a race eSwatini on October 17.
"I'm going to run the Imbube Marathon in two weeks' time. It's going to be my first time running the race. I don’t know what to expect, but I’m hoping for good results," he said.
In the women’s race, former South African champion Puleng Khumalo delivered a dominant performance to claim victory in 3:00:29. Khumalo finished more than 20 minutes ahead of runner-up Musawenkosi Nsibande of the Nedbank Running Club, who crossed the line in 3:20:43, while Eunice Nhlapo completed the women’s podium in 3:26:30.
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