By Thathe Msimango
South African veteran marathoner Tanith Maxwell has received a special invitation to run the London Marathon for the third time in her career.
She previously graced the streets of the English capital in 2010 and 2011.
The race is among the top six marathons in the world, along with races in Berlin, Chicago, New York, Tokyo and Boston.
This year’s race is scheduled for 23 April.
Speaking to Scrolla.Africa, the 46-year-old champion said she had not seen this opportunity coming after battling with injuries for the past three years. She was nominated by her sponsors, New Balance International.
“This is wonderful news to me. To be honest, I never thought in my wildest dream that I would still be afforded an opportunity to compete in a big race like London,” she said.
“For the past 18 months, I haven’t been able to train at all since I had an achilles injury.” At one stage, she said, she was thinking of retiring from sport, “but I kept believing in myself. The streets of London have wonderful memories for me and I can’t wait to run there again.”
Maxwell intends to enjoy the marathon without putting herself under unnecessary pressure.
“I think the important thing is to run my own race. With the coach, we have been curious about how we should approach training without having to push hard. I must enjoy the race in London without having too many optimistic targets,” she said.
Maxwell, who represented South Africa in the 2012 London Olympics, has a marathon personal best of 2:32:33, achieved during 2010 Berlin Marathon, where she took eighth position.
Among her achievements is coming fourth in the 2018 Comrades Marathon.
Picture above: Tanith Maxwell
Image source: Supplied
