After missing out on setting a new world record for masters (40+) at the Absa Run Your City 10km in Durban this month, Hollywood Athletics Club Elite Purple Star, Stephen Mokoka has announced he intends to make history at the Cape Town Marathon in October, where he will look to become the first four-time winner of the event.
Coming into the Run Your City event, Mokoka was poised to go after Bernard Lagat’s world record of 27:48, set in Manchester 10 years ago. Ironically, it was in that very same race that Mokoka set a now broken South African National record of 27:38. After a quick 28:06 at the Run Your City 10km in Cape Town in May, Mokoka came short, finishing in 28:37.
“That is what happens in sport, as you have good days and there can also be bad days too,” says Mokoka. “I started out nicely and on pace but from around 7km I knew it was slipping away as there was also a headwind. But I have taken in the result and will come [out] again next year in search of the record.”
Now focusing on the upcoming Cape Town Marathon, where Mokoka, already a three-time winner, is looking to make history with a record fourth win. Turning down selection for the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo, Mokoka is confident that he can do well.
“I will still be in action at the Hollywoodbets 10km down in Durban next month, because as you know, a marathon is not a jog and to compete for the title you need to have the speed in the legs.” Run on a fast and flat course in Durban, one may think that Mokoka could possibly attack the 27:48 world masters record, and although he has not mentioned it, Mokoka is a seasoned campaigner who is a tough competitor and the mark is never safe. Many believe he can challenge the World Masters Record for the Half Marathon (1:01.09 – Haile Gebrselassie, 2013) should he set his sights on that. Stephen’s PB of 59:36 is also the South African Record for the distance.
With the Cape Town Marathon on its way to becoming an Abbott World Marathon Major next year, the elite field, although not announced yet, is set to be a tough one, attracting many of the world’s best marathon runners. “Running a prestigious big-city marathon is always an honour and even bigger when it is in your own country,” says Mokoka. “This is my number one goal for the rest of the year and I would like to make history by becoming a four-time winner of the event.”
