Maseru, June 05 — The Lesotho flag of blue, green and white colours embedded with the Basotho hat will be visible in this year’s 97th edition of Comrades marathon which runs from Durban to Pietermaritzburg on Sunday.
Among the hopefuls to look up to who will hoist the flag are a veteran runner Teboho Sello who has previously finished this famous race in top 10 more than once, is likely to challenge for the elusive win this time around.
His compatriots include the likes of a novice Motlokoa Nkhabutlane who will be making his debut in this ultra-marathon race.
Nkhabutlane previously held a national record in the standard marathon which was recently shuttered by 2024 Paris Olympic Game medal hopeful Tebello Ramakongoana earlier this year.
Other local distance runners who are going to give it a try at the Comrades marathon include Lebenya Nkoka and Teboho Noosi among many.
When approached for comment, a veteran marathon runner Mabuthile Lebopo told the Agency that Comrades marathon needs patience and endurance to do well, unlike a standard marathon which he said needs strength and mental strength to win it.
He confessed that the Comrades marathon is one race which has been eluding Lesotho runners for a long time, saying only Mpesela Ntlotsoeu has previously come close to winning it after finishing in third place.
Lebopo, who is not going to take part in this year’s race, said he was not completely ruling out the likes of Nkhabutlane and Sello from winning the race, saying novice are always full of surprises to do well in their first appearance while the later could seek to improve his previous record.
The 97th Comrades Marathon will be the 49th up run on Sunday, 9 June, starting at the Durban City Hall and ending at the HollywoodBets Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg.
The race that will start at 05:30am and finishes 12 hours later, will cover a distance of 85.91 kilometres.
A total of 20 600 runners from different countries across the globe will descend to Pietermaritzburg to participate in the 97th edition of Africa’s richest and the world-famous Comrades Marathon, an ‘Up Run’.
