In that race, Ngubane started out hard and had built up a sizeable lead but in the heat and altitude of the maloti mountains his body started to falter, and top Spanish trail runner Gerrard Morales passed him with 5km to go and quickly built up a lead of 80 seconds.

 

“I remember that day very well,” Ngubane said from his workplace in Durban where he is based in the coastal City. “I started too fast and the altitude also got to me so when Gerrard passed me I even thought of quitting because my body was done. Something in my head just said to me that I have come this far, and I can’t give up.” Giving up is not in the vocabulary of Ngubane who picked himself up and past the Spaniard with the finish in sight to take victory.

 

“For this year’s race my training has gone very well and I am prepared. I will start differently this year and will be watching Gerrard who I feel will be the main competitor.

 

With the race going through the Maluti mountains, altitude is another factor. “Because I am from Durban all my training is at sea level and here we are running above 3500m so it definitely makes things a lot tougher but I have no excuses and look forward to the race day.”