First-timer wins ultra-marathon

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GARDEN ROUTE DISTRICT SPORT NEWS AND VIDEO - To run an ultra-marathon of more than 160km is no mean feat.

And to win it when you only started endurance running at the end of 2020, without much prior experience, is extraordinary.

Thembinkosi Sojola, a process controller at PetroSA, completed the Backyard Ultra Series in Blythedale, Durban on 26 June, as "the last man standing" and the only runner to complete the race.

This first timer completed the 167km in 25 hours.

Sojola, a member of the Bayethe Multisport Academy, says it all started with an invitation to a parkrun.

After his first parkrun in George in 2018, he joined the PetroSA running team. The Bayethe Multisport Academy offers swimming, running and cycling and he realised this would help him up his game.

Photo gallery: Thembinkosi Sojola wins ultra marathon

"There were no races, but I saw an advert on Facebook that interested me. I wanted to see how far I could go and if I could be the last man standing."

With the help of his coach Thamsanqa Douse, he decided to go for it. Sojola ran close on 200km per week to prepare for the ultra-marathon.

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"It was tough to balance it with work, because I had to run long distances during the week, say 30km per day and then topped it off with 45km during weekends."

Thembinkosi explains that in the race, laps are 6,7km, to be completed every hour. "If you run for 45 minutes, you can rest for 15."

He describes the experience as "great", despite the difficulties of breaking through the barrier of running for 12 hours.

"The motto of the race is 'just one more lap'. So that's what I kept telling myself." He was also motivated to prove a point on behalf of Bayethe Multisport Academy.

"As my legs were getting heavy, I had to dig deep. I kept thinking of where we come from and our background. From Mossel Bay to Durban. I thought that if I could win, I could help our small academy from a small town in the Western Cape to get on the map."

And so he did.

As a runner, his main goal is to win more races. Also, he'd like to claim his green number in the Comrades - for completing 10 races.

"I want to also motivate more people to run, especially the youth."

Thembinkosi Sojola