Van Zyl had a remarkable run, especially seeing that she is pregnant with her second child, while Manja achieved exactly what her set his sights on: a win and nothing less.

 

Van Zyl and Manja were in good company with teammates Rudo Mhonderwa and Patience Murowe taking second and third positions in the ladies senior category whilst Phillimon Mathiba took second position in the men’s senior category.

Women’s race

It seems Van Zyl ran a great tactical race from start to finish. Knowing her limitations being pregnant, and knowing the course, came in very handy. “I know the route very well and know that it is not easy, there are a lot of hills to deal with. Some of the girls started very fast, but I chose to hold back a bit. I was 3rd for most of the way and only caught the two leading girls around the 10km and 15km mark. After that I managed to finish strong,” says Van Zyl.

 

The Olympic marathoner, who holds a 70-minute PB over the half marathon distance, says she is very happy with her performance, especially in the light of her being pregnant. With her first pregnancy she did not manage to run under 81 minutes for a half marathon, but today she managed a 78:44, which almost feels like a PB, jokes Van Zyl.

 

Since falling pregnant she has good and ‘bad’ running days and she is not always sure how a day is going to turn out. “But today was a good day! I didn’t feel that great yesterday so I was a little worried, and even while warming up this morning I was worried, but surprisingly during the race I felt absolutely fine and managed to finish strong. ”

 

Her Olympic hurdler husband LJ was super proud of his wife’s performance this morning. “He is always proud of me as he knows sometime it is an effort just to get out the door when running pregnant.” Their firstborn Louis got his mom’s medal this morning, but Van Zyl says he wasn’t that chuffed with mom’s effort as he probably wanted another present!

Van Zyl, who late last year became the first South African female since 2009 to win the Soweto Marathon, will be in action at the Johnson Crane Half Marathon and the Spar Ladies race in March before tackling the mighty Two Oceans Half Marathon end of March. “I will be much further pregnant then and realise I can’t hope for a top position, but I would like to try for top ten,” says Van Zyl.

 

Men’s Race
The men’s race panned out exactly the way NRC’s David Manja and Phillimon Mathiba hoped for. Manja crossed the line in a speedy 1:08:44 whilst Mathiba blitzed through in 1:08:53.

 

Both men have been training very hard and specifically for this morning’s race. “Both of them did a long run and a speed work session on Christmas Day as well as New Year’s day. They worked very hard and wanted this morning’s win,” says Pio Mpolokeng, their coach and NRC’s development coach in Klerksdorp. “They were ready and well prepared, and that’s why they ended up with a great result this morning.”

 

Manja, who won the Soweto Half Marathon late last year, as well as Mathiba, who placed third at Soweto, were in the leading pack from the start. They set their sights on Lucky Mohale, last year’s winner, and made sure they did not let him out of their sight. “We decided last night that they should not let Lucky out their sight. He has won this race three times. Lucky started falling off the pack around the 7km mark and that’s when David and Phillimon started taking the lead,” says Mpolokeng. Mohale eventually finished in 4th position in a time of 1:12:56.

 

Both Mathiba and Manja will both now have some easier days before heading off to Bloemfontein next week for the cross-country African Championship trials. A team will be selected to represent South Africa in Mauritius and Algeria in March.

 

They are also waiting to hear whether their performances this morning were good enough for selection to the Half Marathon World Champs in March. “The president of Central Gauteng Athletics was there this morning and saw my boys perform. I am hoping to hear from the soon. But for now I am a very happy coach.”