Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THERE is no time for a break for top marathon runner Tendai Zimuto after his victorious run at the Econet Victoria Falls Marathon over the weekend.
Fresh from his success in the resort town, the Black Rhinos Athletics Club runner is contemplating stepping up preparations for his next major race, the BMW Berlin Marathon, due to take place on September 27.
Zimuto, under the guidance of Benson Chauke, is already laying the groundwork for his next assignment, and the target is earning a spot in next year’s World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China.
Having made his maiden appearance at the global meet last year in Tokyo, Japan, Zimuto has made it clear he wants to become a regular at such big stages.
The Victoria Falls Marathon was part of his preparations.
Chauke said he was pleased with the outcome from the marathon as they got the assessment they wanted to move forward with their training for Berlin.
“Remember, I said Tendai is going to Victoria Falls, not necessarily going all out to win the Victoria Falls or to be very competitive and aspiring to win anything.
“But he went to just participate with the kind of loading that we had put in just to see what it would give us.
“But it turned out that his level of fitness was good enough for him to win the Victoria Falls Marathon, which was never our major goal,” said Chauke.
“Our major goal was, are we able to run this race with the kind of load that we had put into him, considering that he had, at three weeks, a turbulent kind of preparation, where at one stage he wasn’t well, and then we went to Tanganda, did that hilly course, and came back.
“We continued with our loading and only released him to go. We never did much that would have translated into a very good fast run, but fortunately, what we put into him was enough to enable him to win the race.
“Not taking anything away from everyone, but it’s just what we were doing and what we were hoping to achieve with it that we are happy with where we are,” added Chauke.
Chauke said the Victoria Falls Marathon was Zimuto’s last major competition for now, with attention now on ensuring he is ready for the Berlin Marathon.
“We are going into camp, and it’s now serious business in preparation for a competition that is coming after two months.
“We had started, and this became part of the assessment . . . What we did was we were going to start slow because we had a long break. So, we were going slowly, building up, but we had really just started our camp to put the baseline work, which is what we were just doing.
“And then of course, as I said, there was a breach, a two-week break because of some illness, and then thereafter we were again picking up. But we had set specific races as assessment races.
“We said we would run Tanganda, see the results, and then run Victoria Falls, see the results.
“This has always been our strategy… It gave us the results that it gave us. So, we are happy with the basic work. But what matters most is the work that lies ahead, the two full months that lie ahead.
“This is where the critical work is going to be done, specifically focusing on the marathon,” Chauke said.
The qualification window for the marathon opened last November and closes on May 2, 2027. For men, the qualifying time is 2:06:00, and for women, it’s 2:23:20.
