Johannes Maros Mosehla finishes 98th comrades edition as the oldest male starter

It is not called the Ultimate Human Race for nothing, the brutal 90km down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban held on 8 June got the world talking as, Johannes Mosehla from Polokwane Athletic Club finished the biggest race in the world known as Comrades Marathon as the oldest runner at the age of 83.

Mosehla is no stranger to the comrades, he has run and completed 11 Ultimate Human Race with 11 medals. The comrade’s rules stipulate that, if a runner does not finish the race before the cut off time of 12 hours, a runner will not get a medal even if they crossed the finish line.

Speaking to Radio 2000 with Thabiso Mosia on Monday, Mosehla told millions of listeners that he achieved all the medals through discipline and consistency over the years.

“Anyone can do comrades for as long as they are disciplined and consistent with training and determined. I finished my 12th comrades before the 12 hours cut off time at 11:47:10 which got me a Vic Clapham 2025 medal at an average pace of 8 minutes per kilometer.

With listeners calling the radio stations to congratulate and seeking advice on how to run the race, Mosehla encouraged listeners to listen to their bodies as he also does the same.

“I want to run the 100 comrades edition in 2027, but my body will tell me if I can am able to do so. It will be a down run again and if my training goes well and I do not have any health complications, I do not see any reason why I can not finish the race”.
Beating his record with his 2025 personal best, the comrades team recognized Mosehla as he was awarded a trophy as the oldest man to participate in the race.

It took him 3 official 42km races in Polokwane to qualify for the comrades, mainly Mall of the North Marathon, Makoro Marathon and Polokwane City Marathon.

Mosehla will continue to be acknowledged for his perseverance as a long-distance road runner during the welcome ceremony by Polokwane Municipality in the next weeks. EC