Mohau Nei, pursuing a Masters in Engineering, is a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at the University of Pretoria (UP) who took up running as a hobby back in high school. Little did she know to her surprise it would transform life for the better.  

More interestingly on how it actually started, “I have been running since high school and my team Falcons at the time inspired me to get started. In 2018 at UP I learned I could join local official road races.” says the aspiring engineer. 

Ultimately the main transformation has enhanced the academic experience as she finds herself ready to face the day to day demands. Furthermore, Mohau says, “It helps with my mental health, I feel I can think clearly and it gives me the energy to tackle my activities for the day and that is how it's improving my life”.  As many in South Africa observe October as Mental Health Awareness month with the objective of not only educating their peers  about mental health but also to reduce the stigma and discrimination that people with mental illness are often subjected to.  

Some of the races she has participated in include the Waterfall City Half Marathon which was her first 21.1km road race completed in a time of 02:30:17. PwC George Claassern, her second half marathon and the event was to honour George Claassen, a Comrades Marathon runner, who broke the record. Thirdly, she raced in the Chamberlain Capital Classic, a half-marathon completed in 02:16:26.

Other charity races Mohau featured are Total Sports Women's Race and Run4Rhinos. Forecasting into the future “My main goal is to run a full marathon, the Soweto Marathon  which is a 42km race”.