Mphuthi wins 32km decathlon

By Staff Reporter

QWAQWA – Local boy Thabang Mphuthi, who runs for Hollywood Athletics Club, won the 32km Decathlon Athletics Free State Championship Crater Traverse Trail Run with a time of time of 03hrs 10 minute 32 seconds.

This 32km Decathlon Athletics Free State Championship Crater Traverse Trail Run was run in Koedoeslaagte in the North West.

The winner was Mphuthi who hails from Qwaqwa. The first runner up was Pitso Meko from Bloemfontein who runs for Eskom Gijimas Athletics club with a time of 04hrs 07 minutes 06 seconds, followed in third by Lefa Tsotetsi of Qwaqwa Hollywood Athletics Club with a time of 04 hours 32 mi minutes 32 seconds.

Thabang Mphuthi the winner of the 32km decathlon.

In an interview with The Guard, Mphuthi said: “I was planning to run the race in 2hrs 45 minutes, but I failed to reach the target due to the cramps I experience in the last 8km of the race. When I was at 30.1km I had to stop as I could not run, the cramps were too much.

“I rested for almost 5 to 10 minutes to recover then I start walking for almost 200m before running to the finish line. As athletes, especially trail athletes, we need to focus and train well and not forget to rest enough during the race week.”