HARARE long-distance runner Monica Kativhu says she is coming down to defend her PPC Matopos 33 Miler ultra-marathon title next month.
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Dates for the race are yet to be confirmed but Kativhu, who romped home first in the senior women’s category yesterday confirmed that she would be taking part in the competition. The Hilmax Athletics Club runner said she had been training hard for the event which she won in the last two years.
“I have been training hard and I am coming to defend my title. I have been training in Inyanga, came to Bulawayo and I have returned to Harare and I am coming next month. I am just waiting to get the confirmation of the dates,” Kativhu said.
The 35-year-old Kativhu crossed the line in four hours 6min 47sec last year, beating her 2013 record of five hours 4min 51sec, when she also won the race.
Last year, she picked up $750 in prize money together with unheralded Charles Soza from Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services – Mutare who pocketed the same amount after clocking three hours 11min 2sec.
Last year when she won the race, Kativhu said: “The race was good though the competition was tough. I am happy I managed to fight and win this competition for the second time.
“I am even more interested in my time. It shows that there is improvement from last year. The race is a good start as I am preparing for the Comrades marathon in South Africa.”
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But she was to pull out of the Comrades marathon in South Africa when she had run 64km due to injury.
More than 200 athletes took part in last year’s PPC Matopos 33 Miler ultra-marathon which starts at Matopos National Park and ends at the National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo.
