'We are going to perform at our best' - Nene's camp ready for Comrades Marathon

Thanks to some favourable results from his athletes this year, coach Mthandeni Nene is positive that his charges will do well at the upcoming Comrades Marathon scheduled for June 8. Nene who hails from Pietermaritzburg where this year’s Dow Run to Durban will start, has seen his athletes perform better than ever before this season. Sinethemba Tshangase claimed the silver medal for KwaZulu-Natal Athletics at the ASA Marathon Championships when he stopped the clock in 2:20:25 after losing out in a titanic battle against Bennet Seloyi, while Sithembiso Mqhele produced a well calculated and composed run at the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon to take ninth position in 3:14:12.

"We are quite happy with the way our camp has performed. Tshangase surprised many at the Balwin Sport Peninsula Marathon in Cape Town getting a silver medal in Marathon Championships despite being unknown in the field. Then Mqhele went to Two Oceans to get a top 10 finish against a good field of athletes which was even more encouraging. The key to our performances is how my athletes have responded to their training programmes. We are still looking for more but the hard work they have done suggests a bright future," he told #TheTopRunner.

Sithembiso Mqhele hard at work at Nene's camp training for the Comrades Marathon. Photo Credit: Supplied.

Despite the positive results that Nene’s hard work is beginning to show, challenges persist. For instance, the only support his camp gets is from the Nedbank Running Club, which must go towards keeping the entire camp afloat. Nene who is himself a Comrades runner with a 7:19:30 personal best, says funding is essential when preparing athletes for a 90km race.

"We are grateful to Nedbank Running Club for assisting us with the supplements and the running shoes. That support goes a long way but to be fair it is not enough," he explained. “When we are conducting long runs, we require a seconding vehicle with sufficient petrol. It's a huge struggle in which I ending up taking money out of my pocket in order for the group to continue function. It's a big ask but we trying to ensure that athletes have a good career and are able to look after their families in the end. Some of them are breadwinners.”

Nene poses with Mqhele after his gold medal run at the 2025 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon. Photo Credit: MWMedia.

Challenges notwithstanding, Nene believes that his team has done enough work to be confident of a good showing at next week’s Comrades Marathon. Tshangase will make his debut as Mqhele and Msawenkosi Nsibande take on The Ultimate Human Race for the second time following decent debuts last year. 34-year-old Mqhele ran 5:57:44 to finish 38th overall, while Nsibande clocked 7:19:30 to ending up 43rd overall in women's race.

“I’m positive that we are going to perform at our level best at Comrades. We have concluded the camp we had and all athletes are back to their homes. I think Mqhele is in good shape and can get close to the top 10. He has been injury free and responded well to training. The most important thing for Msawenkosi is to focus on the time. We have calculated in the women's race regarding the time she has to run in order to get into the top 10.” and can get close to the top 10. He has been injury free and responded well to training. The most important thing for Msawenkosi is to focus on the time. We have calculated in the women's race regarding the time she has to run in order to get into the top 10.”