In the words of Julius Caesar, the Nedbank Running Club athletes can also claim that they came, they saw and they conquered. They won five of the six elite races at the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon.
Sintayehu Legese Yinesu (Ethiopia) won the men's marathon; Selam Abere Alebachew (Ethiopia) was victorious in the women's marathon; David Manja (South Africa) and Onneile Dintwe (Botswana) were the respective winners of the men's and women's half-marathon and Lucky Nkasi (Lesotho) won the men's 10 km race.
The Nedbank Running Club athletes dominated the day. With their fleet-footedness they claimed nine of the 18 podium places on offer in the six elite races.
Nick Bester (Nedbank Running Club National Manager) described it as one of the best performances ever by the Nedbank Running Club athletes at a major running event.
'There is nothing more satisfactory than when something towards which the team and I have been working is executed to absolute perfection. It was just a fantastic day and I want to say to all of our podium finishers: "Well done. You have made Nedbank Running Club proud." I don't think we could have asked for a better finish to the year.'
When Yinesu crossed the line in a time of 2:20:44 he became one of a very elite group of athletes who were able to win the Soweto Marathon three times. His winning time this year was nearly three minutes faster than last year.
By completing his hat-trick Yinesu proved that nothing can beat experience. The men's marathon was a hotly contested affair. Despite countless accelerations and attacks by various athletes, Yinesu remained unfazed. He simply stuck to the race plan that stood him in good stead in the previous two years.
Only after about two hours of running, and at what many describe as the most difficult part of the course, he attacked. The two Lesotho athletes who were running with him, Tsepo Mathibelle and Seutloali Khoarahlane, had nothing left in their legs to respond to his rapid acceleration. Within seconds the Ethiopian was out in front, on his own, and increasing his lead stride by stride.
Mathibelle was second in 2:21:46 and Khoarahlane third in 2:23:22.
Afterwards Yinesu explained that Soweto is one of his favourite cities. It is like home away from home to him and that is why he continues to run one good race after another at the event.
According to him he always planned to attack on one of the hills. 'I did quite a lot of hill work in my training because I really believe that the best way to win is to make the racing hard while running uphill.'
The Nedbank Running Club athletes made a clean sweep in the women's marathon. Alebachew won in 2:42:32; her compatriot, Chelitu Bogale Asefa, finished second in 2:45:22 and Irvette van Zyl third in 2:46:32.
Alebachew described her victory as special. 'I am really happy to win because now all the hard work I have been doing in the buildup to the race was not in vain.'
Van Zyl described her run as a tough day at the 'office'. 'The windy conditions made for tough running. There were times when we ran against a strong headwind, which was quite energy sapping. I am happy with my third-place finish because that was the goal I set out to achieve.'
Manja clocked up another excellent performance in the half-marathon by winning in 1:07:01. His teammate, Joel Mohau, was second in 1:07:56 and Hatasi Mthimkhulu third in 1:08:04.
Dintwe won the women's half-marathon in 1:19:41, while Nkasi won the men's 10 km in 30:17. His teammate, Thabang Mosiako, was third in 30:31. Desmond Mokgobu was second in 30:28.
Nedbank Green Dream Team at the Soweto Marathon Expo on the Saturday before the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon
Nedbank Running Club Members after the Old Mutual Soweto Marathon at the Nedbank Running Club Hospitality site getting something to eat and drink