Mthembu prefers Comrades up run
Bongmusa Mthembu won the Comrades Marathon up run last weekend.
Read our story below, or listen to the full interview here.
The KZN athlete won the Comrades down run title in 2014.
Mthembu is the first South African since Bruce Fordyce to win Comrades more than once.
Mthembu believes hard work is the reason for his Comrades success.
"I think the secret to my success is dedication. I have given myself the time to train. With the grace of God I have always been trying to be serious about my running. I get up early to be at my office. That is who Bongmusa is. I am all about running," Mthembu said.
Mthembu has admitted that he prefers the up run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
"People were saying that I am a down run specialist. This because I have five golds in the down run. This was my first up run gold and I won the race in doing so. I have always preferred the up run and I knew the time would come. I have tried to be consistent as a professional athlete," Mthembu added.
Mthembu feels his success is about more than training. He also makes a point of watching what he eats.
"My diet is very important. Not that I am following a specific diet. I eat my traditional food. I make a point of eating fruit and vegetables. I do not eat cooking oil. I also do not eat skin or fatty meat. I focus on white meat and mostly boiled," Mthembu said.
Mthembu plans to take a break from serious running for the next while.
"I will be resting for two or three months. That is the way it looks. After that I will be back in training. I think my coach will decide what is next. He may want me to help the guys as they may run other races. We will definitely be doing races in the build-up to Comrades next year. We normally do a 56-kilometre run at Nongoma and after that it is Two Oceans. We will maybe also do some track and field work and then it is Comrades," Mthembu added.
Mthembu is the national record holder over 100-kilometres. He believes that run in Spain was a big boost for his Comrades ambitions.
"That race played a very important role. Before I went to Spain I trained with the likes of Gift Kelehe, Ludwick Mamabolo, David Gatebe and Rufus Photo. Those guys are my competitors when it comes to Comrades and so it was amazing to train with them and to go with them to Spain. I beat them in Spain, but we really were all working together. I came home with that confidence and I put it into effect in my training when I started preparing for Comrades 2017," Mthembu said.
Mthembu is the first South African since Bruce Fordyce to win Comrades more than once.
Mthembu believes hard work is the reason for his Comrades success.
"I think the secret to my success is dedication. I have given myself the time to train. With the grace of God I have always been trying to be serious about my running. I get up early to be at my office. That is who Bongmusa is. I am all about running," Mthembu said.
Mthembu has admitted that he prefers the up run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
"People were saying that I am a down run specialist. This because I have five golds in the down run. This was my first up run gold and I won the race in doing so. I have always preferred the up run and I knew the time would come. I have tried to be consistent as a professional athlete," Mthembu added.
Mthembu feels his success is about more than training. He also makes a point of watching what he eats.
"My diet is very important. Not that I am following a specific diet. I eat my traditional food. I make a point of eating fruit and vegetables. I do not eat cooking oil. I also do not eat skin or fatty meat. I focus on white meat and mostly boiled," Mthembu said.
Mthembu plans to take a break from serious running for the next while.
"I will be resting for two or three months. That is the way it looks. After that I will be back in training. I think my coach will decide what is next. He may want me to help the guys as they may run other races. We will definitely be doing races in the build-up to Comrades next year. We normally do a 56-kilometre run at Nongoma and after that it is Two Oceans. We will maybe also do some track and field work and then it is Comrades," Mthembu added.
Mthembu is the national record holder over 100-kilometres. He believes that run in Spain was a big boost for his Comrades ambitions.
"That race played a very important role. Before I went to Spain I trained with the likes of Gift Kelehe, Ludwick Mamabolo, David Gatebe and Rufus Photo. Those guys are my competitors when it comes to Comrades and so it was amazing to train with them and to go with them to Spain. I beat them in Spain, but we really were all working together. I came home with that confidence and I put it into effect in my training when I started preparing for Comrades 2017," Mthembu said.
Twitter - @SportswaveAndre