Sports / Other
Zimbabwean win Orlando Half Marathon
07 Dec 2014 at 11:14hrs | Views
One year after placing second at the OUC Orlando Half Marathon, Pardon Ndhlovu did one better Saturday.
Ndhlovu (pronounced Glove-u), a native of Zimbabwe, defeated 2014 Disney World Marathon champion Fredison Costa of Brazil by nearly a minute and won the 38th annual 13.1-mile race through downtown Orlando in 1 hour, 7 minutes, 2 seconds.
He was the first of 3,328 half-marathoners to cross the finish line.
"When you hit mile nine, 10, you are like, 'Where is the finish line? My legs are fatigued,"' said Ndhlovu, a graduate assistant cross country and track coach at Georgia Regents University in Augusta while pursuing his MBA. "Once you get to the finish line, you are done. It was a satisfactory feeling. It was awesome."
Ndhlovu, an NCAA Division II All-America runner as an undergraduate at North Carolina Pembroke, said he made a pivotal decision at the four-mile mark when he was trying to separate from a pack, including Costa.
"'Should I relax or keep on going?"' Ndhlovu said.
"I went for it, and if they catch me, they will have to work for it."
Ndhlovu (pronounced Glove-u), a native of Zimbabwe, defeated 2014 Disney World Marathon champion Fredison Costa of Brazil by nearly a minute and won the 38th annual 13.1-mile race through downtown Orlando in 1 hour, 7 minutes, 2 seconds.
He was the first of 3,328 half-marathoners to cross the finish line.
"When you hit mile nine, 10, you are like, 'Where is the finish line? My legs are fatigued,"' said Ndhlovu, a graduate assistant cross country and track coach at Georgia Regents University in Augusta while pursuing his MBA. "Once you get to the finish line, you are done. It was a satisfactory feeling. It was awesome."
Ndhlovu, an NCAA Division II All-America runner as an undergraduate at North Carolina Pembroke, said he made a pivotal decision at the four-mile mark when he was trying to separate from a pack, including Costa.
"'Should I relax or keep on going?"' Ndhlovu said.
"I went for it, and if they catch me, they will have to work for it."
Source - online
