George Kusche insists Comrades Marathon preparations are on the right track

His winning time was five minutes faster than last year’s mark set by Bennet Seloyi of Central Gauteng Athletics.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Kusche said favourable weather conditions contributed to a positive debut performance in the event.

"Yes, it was good, the wind obviously was better than previous years so it allowed us to run a bit faster but it was a good race, I felt good. Obviously I ran alone the whole way but it was very good and a nice route and I'm very happy with how it played out," Kusche said.

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The 27-year-old data scientist says the pieces of the puzzle are gradually falling into place. 

His strategy was to include one standard marathon in his programme before shifting full focus to the Comrades Marathon Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg on 14 June.

With victories in both a half marathon and a full marathon already secured this 

season, Kusche believes he has ticked important boxes in the first phase of his campaign.

"Yes, I knew that it would be good to get one marathon in before, you know I still want track before Comrades starts. So, Peninsula was a good race because it's in February so there's still a lot of time to prepare for Comrades and it's at the coast, so at sea level and it's relatively flat,” he added.

“So, this is my marathon for the first half of the year, from now on I'll shift my focus to Comrades and then after Comrades I'll probably do another Marathon at the end of the year, so maybe Soweto Marathon, later in the year."

Kusche, who represents the Nedbank Running Club under the guidance of elite manager Nick Bester, coaches himself and remains confident in his preparation methods.