Stephen Mokoka on sustaining a career spanning over 20 years

Now 40, Mokoka has accomplished feats that many only dream of, including four Olympic appearances, a 50km ultra-marathon world record, a record three Cape Town Marathon titles, and six Shanghai Marathon victories.

He has also proudly represented South Africa at numerous World Championship marathons, with a career highlight being his fourth-place finish in Doha in 2019.

Still going strong, Mokoka says he remains motivated to achieve even more on the road.

"I mean training, dedication and discipline and staying there for long but I can say now me my coach and we have decided for me to go back to the shorter staff to try and see if I can be able to do something. I'm happy about the time but back to basics," Mokoka said.

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The Hollywood Athletic Club runner turned back the clock with an impressive third-place finish at the Absa Run Your City 10km in Cape Town over the weekend, clocking 28 minutes and six seconds.

Kabelo Mulaudzi took top honours in 27:49, while Lesotho’s Kamohelo Mofolo secured second place in 27:53. Competing in a high-calibre field, he exceeded expectations with a strong showing—ten years after first winning the same race.

"It was exciting, first slow 5K but the last 5K, I think the last 3K's, the guys picked up very hard. My target was to run somewhere around 28.15 because I just wanted to get back the speed, so for the weeks that I've been training, I'm happy about the time,” he added.

“The podium again, I'm not happy because I could see that I could get more, but with the target, I'm very happy. I mean, going up the podium again is pretty exciting."