Sikhumbuzo Seme targets a top 10 finish in the Comrades Marathon
3rd February 2025
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Long-distance runner Sikhumbuzo Seme is aiming for a top-10 finish at the Comrades Marathon after his recent victory at the Johnson Crane Hire Marathon.
The son of renowned athletics coach Michael Seme, Sikhumbuzo is preparing for his fourth attempt at the Ultimate Human Race, having placed 11th two years ago.
The 89km down-run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban is set for 8 June, and he is confident that his father and coach, Michael, will devise a strategy to help him achieve his goal in his third down-run race.
"For 2025 the plan is still the same, you know as an athlete running Comrades you always wish that one day I want to win that race. So, I'm still on that plan. You know, when running, the more you compete at that level, the more I do Comrades Marathon I feel like I know what to fix now,” Seme said.
“I know when I'm training, what I'm looking for. So, it's much easier for me to train since I've been running Comrades for three years now. I've got 22, 11 and 17th positions so my goal is to do better than that. I've been number 11, so I've tasted that victory without even the victory, so, I know what to do from now."
Seme secured his Comrades Marathon qualification by winning the Johnson Crane Hire Marathon in Benoni, crossing the finish line first in the 42.2km race with a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, and 42 seconds.
Competing against a field of 13,000 runners, he maintained a comfortable lead over Charles Tijane, who finished second in 2:28:16.
His victory highlighted the benefits of attending a December training camp led by his father and coach.
"I'm very happy with my performance from that day. I really enjoyed the race, it's not that bad but the second lap was difficult because I ran the whole lap alone, the first lap alone. So, when I arrived around 35km that's when I started to feel that I've been running for a long time on my own but with the performance I'm very happy,” he added.
“It shows that from December training camp, things went well. So, the coach sent us there to just go and test ourselves, how is our fitness level. So, from there I've noticed that I'm where I'm supposed to be. So, I'm not that fit but I'm not unfit."
