Khatoane prepares for Mandela Marathon

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Khatoane prepares for Mandela Marathon

Khatoane is a top local athlete with a good record of previously winning the half marathon and representing Lesotho at the Cape Verde Beach games where he appeared fourth clocking in 1:07:13.

July 25, 2019 1 min read

MASERU – With the sporting season approaching, top marathoner Jobo Khatoane of Mokhotlong is about to wrap up preparations ahead of the Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon scheduled for July 27 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Khatoane said he was joining the 21.1km race along with thousands other athletes to pay tribute to the anti-apartheid liberation icon, Nelson Mandela. Unveiling his game plan, Khatoane, who is set to leave Lesotho for SA on Friday said he was looking forward to breaking his previous time record of 1:03:40 to at least 1:01 or even below, because he was now more familiar with the route. Having participated in the Cape Verde beach games last month where it was extremely hot was yet an added advantage of using cool temperatures of Port Elizabeth in order to claim top position, he showed.

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Khatoane said he was well prepared for competition especially when most athletes would be returning from the winter off season break. Ensuring consistency in his training programme for other local and regional marathons such as Soweto Marathon and by participating in the weekend half marathon served as a measuring stick against the best in the best. The Nelson Mandela Bay half marathon will run in two categories of 21.1km and 5km. Khatoane is a top local athlete with a good record of previously winning the half marathon and representing Lesotho at the Cape Verde Beach games where he appeared fourth clocking in 1:07:13.

LeNA