Athletics South Africa is leaving nothing to chance in the preparation of the marathon athletes who will represent the country at the upcoming IAAF World Championships in Berlin in August. The squad has for some time been training at altitude under the guidance of experienced Kenyan former head coach Danson Muchoki and according to reports from the athletes this initiative by ASA has been a great improvement from past preparations.

“It’s been a brilliant opportunity to make use of the international acclaimed training set up at Potchefstroom’s High Performance Institute (HPI),” says Tanith Maxwell, the only female Marathon runner representing South Africa in Berlin. “The initiative by ASA has put marathon training and marathon running on a new level with exciting prospects for South Africa.  In saying that, I must admit that it is challenging being the only female representative. The men have developed into a very strong and positive team and they have been brilliant in their support towards me.”

Meanwhile, Coolboy Ngamole who took three months leave from work in prepartion for Berlin and who recently came up tops in the Southern Region half-marathon championships in Comores in April said, “So far so good no problem everything is perfect. Environment, training, facilities and food are perfect. I am aiming for a 62:00 in Port Elizabeth. If it’s my day, I’ll win.”

“The Kenyan coach knows what he’s doing and he knows how to take us where he wants us to go,” said Norman Dlomo. “It is just unfortunate that I am not going to the SA Half Marathon Championships. I was expecting a good performance there but I have a knee injury.” Dlomo will be hoping to recover in time for Berlin. Running 2:10 last year, Dlomo represented South Africa in the marathon in Beijing and will want to do his country proud with a good showing in Berlin.

Norman Dlomo

Tanith Maxwell