Elite Race
Lucrative prize money and incentives attracts the best of the best to the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series
SA’ S RICHEST
10KM SERIES
The five races in the acclaimed Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series will boast a massive combined prize purse of R1,610,000 in 2025, with each race offering not only great prize money for the top performers, but also lucrative incentives for local athletes to push their limits.
Since its launch in 2015, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series has taken South African 10km racing to unprecedented heights, including local men dipping under 28 minutes on home soil for the first time, and new SA Records for both men and women. This is largely thanks to the world class fields of elite athletes assembled for the races in this series, but also thanks to the impressive prize money on offer, which has prompted world-class racing from gun to tape! Now, the 2025 series is set to provide the same great racing action, and looks set to build still further on the success of the last decade.
“ We firmly believe that an impressive prize purse not only rewards hard work but also inspires athletes to push boundaries,” says Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports and the Series founder.“ We are proud to announce a combined prize purse of R1,610,000 in 2025, with each of the five events featuring a total prize allocation of R322,000. Of this, R252,000 will be dedicated to the Open Category, with R126,000 each awarded to the Top 10 Open Men and Women. The top male and female finishers in each city will receive R30,000 each, with R25,000 going to second-place finishers and R20,000 to third-place finishers. Additionally, R70,000 will be allocated to the various age categories, from juniors to the 70- plus category.”
Incentives for Local Athletes
In addition to the substantial combined prize purse, Stillwater Sports has unveiled an unprecedented“ SA Athlete Prize Incentive Schedule” for 2025, offering bonuses for exceptional performances across all five races in the Series. In the men’ s category, bonuses will start for times faster than 28 minutes, with a substantial R200,000 bonus for breaking the 27-minute barrier. For women, bonuses begin for times faster than 32:08, with an impressive R200,000 incentive on offer for breaking the 30:23 mark.
MEN’ S TIMES
Sub-28:00 R40,000 Sub-27:45 R80,000 Sub-27:30 R120,000 Sub-27:15 R160,000 Sub-27:00 R200,000
WOMEN’ S TIMES
Sub-32:08 R40,000 Sub-31:42 R80,000 Sub-31:15 R120,000 Sub-30:50 R160,000 Sub-30:23 R200,000
To further raise the stakes, a bonus of R50,000 will be awarded to the South African athlete who breaks the SA 10km record( at the time of the race). The current men’ s record stands at 27:35, set by Precious Mashele at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K in 2023, while Glenrose Xaba holds the women’ s record of 31:12, achieved at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K in 2024.( Note: The R50,000 will be awarded to the fastest time, should more than one athlete break one of these records.)
Raising the Bar
The standard of South African road running continues to rise at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES, says Meyer.“ This is evident from the fact that both the current men’ s and women’ s 10km national records were set in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES. In 2024, we paid out an impressive total of R610,000.00 in SA Athlete Incentives – an achievement we are incredibly proud of, as event organisers. Our goal is to build on this momentum by continuing to reward exceptional performances in 2025 and raising the level of competitiveness in South African middle-distance running.
In closing Meyer adds,“ Witnessing world-class performances on home soil is always a thrill, and by providing a substantial prize purse, we aim to inspire both local and international athletes to arrive fully prepared and determined to give their best performance on race day. We are proud to be able to recognise and reward these athletes for their dedication and support. Furthermore, our objective is to empower South Africa’ s elite athletes to build successful careers without needing to compete abroad. We are confident that these incentives will attract the country’ s top talent and inspire spectacular performances across all five events in 2025.”
18 Run Your City Series Expect to see flying feet in the fast, flat Absa
RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K
Will the record incentive to beat Precious Mashele’ s SA Record, set in Gqeberha in 2023, be claimed this year?
Images: Tobias Ginsberg, Richard Pearce