Cornelia Joubert hopes to secure a podium finish at the SA marathon championships

Joubert boasts a Personal Best of 2:39:37 set in 2013 but remains optimistic about her chances of making the podium.

The former SA 10 000m champion told SABC Sport a podium finish will be a huge accomplishment for her.

“The preparations are going well. I want to perform well in the SA championships and the Durban International Marathon.

A top three in the two races would be a remarkable achievement. The plan is to run faster than my PB, and hopefully, it will be enough to secure a podium place finish for me on race day. I hope the body will respond and push me to the Finish Line quicker,” said Joubert.

Joubert will line up against Comrades Marathon 2018 winner Ann Ashworth, who boasts a PB of 2:35:47 over the 42.2km distance.

Mbele will enjoy the hometown support, which could fire her up to defend her title.

Annie Bothma, the winner of the Cape Town Marathon in 2020 with a PB of 2:33:35) is another contender for the championships.

However, Joubert embraces the competition and has a plan up her sleeve in what she described as a titanic battle in the female marathon category.

“I saw the line-up and started to get Goosebumps.

It’s a star-studded line-up, and any one of the names on the start list can win the SA title.

But I am not worried, not scared, and remain confident of producing an upset, and I do not want to put too much pressure on myself.

I have a plan and want to stick to it.

I will run my race and attack when the right moment comes,” said Joubert.

The prize money for the marathon is R250 000, but the organizers of the Durban Marathon will pay the first male and female runner a whopping R180 000 to run the World Athletics qualifying time of 2:09:40 for men and 2:28:00 for women on Sunday.

But Joubert says she won’t be able to register a qualifying time in her first race of the year.

“Not on Sunday. I don’t think I can be able to run the qualifying time. Maybe, I can do it later in the year.

I must chop off 12 minutes from my BP to run a qualifying time.

Maybe in the future, but not Sunday. It is not about the money, and I will qualify at the right time, not because of a bonus,” said Joubert.