Seabata Mahao
Lesotho’s long-distance star, ‘Neheng Khatala, has set a new national record of 32:01 minutes for the women’s 10-kilometer race during a recent Absa Run Your City 10km race in neighbouring South Africa.
Although she only finished fifth in the race, Khatala broke the previous national record of 32:05 minutes set by Mokulubete Makatisi in Gqeberha, South Africa earlier this year.
The recent race was won by Nalimo Njoki of Kenya, with a time of 30:37 minutes.
This is not the first time Khatala has become a national record holder in the 10km race category, as she previously set a record time of 35:06 minutes during the Absa Run Your City race in Cape Town in 2022, which was later broken by just one second by Makatisi in 2023.
After pulling off the feat, Khatala expressed excitement about improving her performance in the 10km race.
“The target was not the national record as such but to improve my personal best. For over a year now, I have been trying to break my personal best and I am happy I have finally done it. Every time I race, it is against my previous record. I do not aim to break other people’s records. I feel like whenever I break my own records, I am growing and that is an achievement to me,” Khatala said.
She mentioned that her competitors were very fast, which affected her enthusiasm to outplay them.
“On Sunday, they went too fast, and I did not have enough energy to chase them. I did not even worry about them. I just kept my own pace knowing that I had the potential to beat my own time, which I did. The national record was a bonus,” Khatala explained.
