Entsika Athletic Club runner Desmond Mokgobu won the inaugural Palabora Mining Company (PMC) 21km family marathon. The Marathon took place in Phalaborwa on Saturday, 26 February. Mokgobu hails from Senwabarwana in the Capricorn District.
PMC hosted their first Family Day Marathon that also saw over 1800 people participating.
The marathon was categorized into four events: 3km relay, 5km fun-run, 10km and 21km races which both respectively started onsite at PMC mining operations.
DESMOND MOKGOBU WINS PMC FAMILY MARATHON
Mokgobu, who walked away with R 21 000, finished in the time of 01:01:32 followed by Thabang Mosialo with 01:01:40 and in third place David Manja with 01:02:19.
“The preparation began after the Olympic Games last year. Remember that during the lockdown we were training but there were no races. So, I’m very happy that I won this race and that the sponsors could organise it. My wish is that there will be more of these because we need money for training as running is our daily bread. I’m very happy,” Mokgobu told journalists afterwards.
NEHENG KHATALA WINS WOMEN’S RACE
In the women’s race, Lesotho’s Neheng Khatala was dominant winning by over five minutes by clocking 01:10:30. She was followed by Gift Ramabele at 01:33:58 and Beryl Makokha at 01:34:08.
The men’s 10km race was won by Olympian Sibusiso Nzima (00:30:08), second place Nicholas Seopasengwe (00:30:49). Third place was Abednico Mashaba (00:30:57).
“It’s exciting that people were able to make time to visit Phalaborwa. The numbers that we had is also very good and we hope that the event will grow bigger next year,” said Abby Ledwaba from PMC.
“It was exciting that the Marathon started at the mine. It was a good experience for some people to be at the mine for the very first time. I think we just need to improve on managing some of the logistics in advance ensuring that we are bake to meet the expectations of the runners,” he said.
