Jacky

With high expectations for record-breaking performances, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K did not disappoint, as multiple barriers were shattered on Sunday, 13 July 2025. Finishing behind Kabelo Mulaudzi who produced a career best 27:41 to win his second consecutive Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES race of 2025 was Lesotho’s Kamohelo Mofolo, who in crossing the finish line in 27:47 set a new national 10km record for the Mountain Kingdom. “What we witnessed at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on Sunday was nothing short of extraordinary,” says Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports and Series Founder. “The performances were world-class, and it’s a proud and truly special moment for us as organisers to see such incredible results on African soil.” Six men in total broke the 28 minute barrier, a first of it’s kind for the African continent. Included amongst those six was 1500m Olympic semi-finalist Ryan Mphahlele who started the race as a pacemaker and hung on for sixth position in a maiden sub 28:00 clocking and lifetime best 27:59, while Tanzania’s Benjamin Ratsim rounded out the top ten in 28:22 which was an SA All-Comers Junior Record. Aiming to become the fastest 40-year-old 10km runner of all time, Stephen Mokoka fell short, but was nevertheless good value for money. Although the four-time Olympian failed to dip under the 27:48 set by Bernard Lagat in Manchester in 2015, he still ran well under 29 minutes, as he clocked 28:37 to smash David Chawane’s SA 40+ record by almost a minute and win the veteran’s category by more than 90 seconds. “Kabelo Mulaudzi’s brilliant personal best, Kamohelo Mofolo’s national record for Lesotho, and Stephen Mokoka’s phenomenal veterans’ run - smashing a long-standing SA record - were standout achievements,” Meyer added. The women’s race was just as fast. Three women finished inside 31:00 - another first for an African race. Running for the first time on South African soil, Kenya’s Clare Ndiwa made a …

Kabelo Mulaudzi extended his sub 28-minute run to three consecutive races, clocking a personal best of 27:41 to win the highly contested Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on Sunday 13 July 2025 as Kenya’s Clare Ndiwa crossed the finish line in 30:50 to triumph in the women’s race. Paced by Olympic 1500m semi-finalist Ryan Mphahlele and facing stiff competition from defending champion Elroy Gelant and the fastest man in the field, Vincent Kipkorir (27:08), Mulaudzi delivered a dominant performance on the day - capitalising on near-perfect racing conditions. The Boxer Athletics Club ace broke away from the lead bunch just after the 8km mark to win his second straight Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES race of 2025 after claiming victory in Cape Town on 11 May in 27:49. As he did in The Mother City, Lesotho’s Kamohelo Mofolo finished as the runner-up to set a new national record of 27:47, while Kipkorir grabbed third in 27:48. Speaking after the race, 27-year-old Mulaudzi said he was happy to take the win, even though the original goal was to challenge the South African 10km record of 27:28 set by Adrian Wildschutt at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K in April. "The competition was good. The field was full of the fast guys. I'm very happy to win the race,” said Mulaudzi who is coached by Richard Mayer. “My target was to break the national record which ended up not happening today. I think the pace was a bit slow in the first 5km which is why I ended up missing the record.” "It wasn’t meant to be, but this is not the end of the day, as I'll try to break the record again in future. For now my goal is to win the two remaining Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES events in TSHWANE and JOBURG.” For winning the race (R30 000) in the fifth 27-minute 10km of his career and dipping under 27:45 (R80 000) Mulaudzi pocketed R110 000 in total as the top ten men finished inside 28:30 with veteran Stephen Mokoka finishing as the first 40-year-old in 28:37. In the women's race, Ndiwa …

Kabelo Mulaudzi has maintained an impressive podium streak in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES since July 2024, and he’ll be looking to extend that run with a sixth consecutive top-three finish when he lines up for the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K this coming Sunday, 13 July 2025. “I had a freak injury last year caused by racing on an extremely hilly course at the SA 10km Champs. Since then I have focused on mainly training at a moderate pace but at reasonably high volumes, doing lots of strength work and selecting my races carefully, focusing on the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES, to avoid injury,” said Mulaudzi when asked about the secret to his incredible consistency. Of those five consecutive podium placings, the Boxer Athletics Club ace counts his 27:49 personal best to win the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K on 11 May amongst the best performances of his career, second only to producing his maiden sub 28 minute clocking (27:56) to win the 2023 Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K. “My coach and I thought I would run 28:15 but I think the fact that I had a cold took pressure off me and I felt good. My coach did not even watch the race and he had a happy surprise when Rhyn Swanepoel of my club Boxer called him to say I had won and broken 28 minutes - it was a 35 second PB for me!” The 27-year-old, who trains alongside 2022 SA 10km champion Andries Sesedi under the watchful eye of coach Richard Mayer, will carry those energising memories into this weekend’s race as he plans to run faster than ever before. But with the likes of Kenya’s Vincent Kipkorir, who is the fastest athlete in the field (27:08), defending champion Elroy Gelant who ran 27:47 to win last year and Stephen Mokoka who has his sights set on running below 27:48 to produce a new Masters World Record, Mr Podium, as Mulaudzi is affectionately known, knows that he may have to run a new SA 10km Record (27:28) in order to win the race. “I don't like to put myself under pressure with predictions about …

As the defending champion, Elroy Gelant will be under the spotlight when he lines up for the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on Sunday 13 July. He’ll be joined by Kenya’s Vincent Kipkorir – the fastest man in the field – who will also be among the top contenders for the win. Gelant, who took eleventh position during last year’s Olympic Marathon, used that performance in Paris to launch himself to a sizzling 2:05:36 lifetime best - almost a full minute faster than the 2:06:33 South African record run by Gert Thys 26 years earlier. Two weeks after setting that national record at the Hamburg Marathon, the Boxer Athletics Club ace surprised many by clocking a fast 28:08 to take fourth position at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K hosted in May this year. “My training has been going really well,” says Gelant, who is a 3-time Olympian. “Obviously the big goal is the World Championships in Tokyo in September where I’ll be running the marathon since I’ve already qualified. So all of my preparations are now set for the World Champs.” The Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K features as a key milestone to determine Gelant’s readiness to finish inside the top ten over 42km in Japan. Reflecting on the 27:47 10km best he clocked to win the 2024 Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K ahead of Kabelo Mulaudzi, the 38-year-old North West University lecturer says although he knows that winning a 10km race against younger, faster men won’t be easy, he is up for the job. “Being the defending champion for the Durban leg of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES, I intend to go out there and defend my title and also see if I can get close to running a personal best. It will also be a good race to test my leg speed going into the World Championships. I’m looking forward to it. My plan is to win the race. But it will be tough with all the quality performers we have in South Africa,” admits Gelant. In addition to the likes of Kabelo Mulaudzi and Lesotho’s Kamohelo Mofolo, Gelant will also have to …

Inspired by Stephen Mokoka’s intention to target the Masters 10km World Best at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on Sunday, 13 July 2025, the organisers of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series have put forward a substantial R100 000 incentive for Mokoka to break the 27:48 barrier. “The Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series has always strived to create a platform for our local athletes to shine on home soil and to incentivise exceptional performances,” says Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports and Series Founder. “ When Stephen Mokoka shared his goal of breaking the Masters world record earlier this year, we knew we wanted to support him in a meaningful way.” After producing the fourth-fastest performance of his career (28:06) to claim third place at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K on 11 May, 40-year-old Mokoka realised he was within striking distance of the 27:48 Masters World Best, set by America’s Bernard Lagat at the 2015 Great Manchester Run in the United Kingdom. Having competed in that very race - where he clocked a lifetime best and then-South African record of 27:38 - the Hollywood Athletics Club standout identified the lightning-fast Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K course as the ideal stage to become the fastest 40-year-old 10km runner in history. “I’m grateful to Stillwater Sports and the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series. The opportunities we get through the series truly make our lives easier,” said Mokoka. “To break the record, Bernard Lagat had to travel all the way from America to run in Manchester, UK. So, I’m thankful to have an opportunity like this on home soil - especially now, with the younger guys performing so well over 10km. These days, you can’t get onto a podium with a 28:10 easily. A platform of this magnitude excites me, and I’m looking forward to what lies ahead.” What lies ahead are two weeks of putting the finishing touches on a 10km-specific training programme, which Mokoka began after completing the Totalsports Two Oceans 56km …

After a positive start to the first half of the year, Bruce-Lynn Damons is confident of breaking new ground when he makes his Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K debut on Sunday, 13 July, while veteran Lebo Phalula looks to extend her excellent 2025 form. A former 1500m specialist with a lifetime best of 3:40.05, the 29-year-old Damons has, in recent years, started stepping up to the 10km distance on the road. The 28:48 personal best he produced at the 2023 Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K hinted at his considerable potential - further underlined by his strong recent form. Since joining the Langa Athletics Club earlier this year, Damons has clocked a season’s best of 29:29 at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K on 11 May, earned a silver medal at the Western Province 10km Championships, and defended his title at the Gugs Youth Day 10km with a time of 29:36 five weeks later - all while continuing to dominate the 4km event at WPA Cross Country League races in June. As one of a handful of Cape Town athletes able to mix it with South Africa’s top 10km contenders - most of whom live and train at altitude in Gauteng and the North West province - Manenberg-based Damons believes he is ready to deliver the best 10km performance of his career. “We kicked off the season with two solid performances – the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K and the Western Province Athletics 10km Championships. It’s been a tough training block, and I’m proud to see the work begin to translate. I’m excited to run the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K because I’ve never run it before, and I hear it’s a fast race. My aim is to break my personal best and get close to a top ten finish,” says Damons. Also eagerly anticipating the famously fast Durban course is Lebo Phalula. The fastest 40-year-old 10km female athlete in South Africa is enjoying a rich vein of form, having clocked 32:38 to place fifth at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K on 13 April, improving her own 40+ SA Women’s 10km record in the …

South Africa’s largest Women’s Month celebration, the Totalsports Women’s Race, will once again treat thousands of female runners and walkers to scenic 5km and 10km routes in Durban (Sunday, 3 August), Cape Town (Saturday, 9 August – National Women’s Day), and Johannesburg (Sunday, 17 August). “The Totalsports Women’s Race celebrates the unique beauty of each host city, with fun and safe routes that highlight iconic landmarks along the way,” says Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports. “Whether you’re tackling the 5km fun run/walk or the 10km race in Durban, Cape Town, or Johannesburg, participants can expect an unforgettable experience in the vibrant heart of each city.” The series kicks off in Durban, where participants can look forward to a fast and flat course, ideal for chasing personal bests. “Starting and finishing at the iconic Suncoast Casino, the 10km route will see top local and international elite athletes aiming to break the ‘Women’s Only 10km World Record’, with a remarkable R1 million incentive up for grabs,” confirms Meyer. “The route features iconic landmarks like the Moses Mabhida Stadium, while vibrant activations from sponsors including Totalsports, Nike, Absa, and Foschini Beauty will keep the energy high, and spirits lifted throughout the day. We’re excited to witness world-class women’s racing in Durban.” From the coast to the Cape, the Totalsports Women’s Race then heads to the majestic Mother City. “Cape Town’s race starts in Darling Street and finishes at Grand Parade, under the watchful eye of the Nelson Mandela statue at City Hall,” continues Meyer. “Taking place on National Women’s Day makes it even more meaningful. The route is a bit more challenging than Durban’s, with one or two hills that will test your endurance - but you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views of Table Mountain, and other memorable landmarks including City Hall.” Cape Town will also feature exciting sponsor activations from …