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Barnstorming Black & Yellow
It ’ s been a busy first month of 2022 for the Murray & Roberts Running Club , with dominant performances on tartan and tarmac .
At the the Cape Milers Summer Series , on Cape Town ’ s Sea Point track , the women ’ s 3000m race was a barnstormer for the black and yellow , with Carina Viljoen ( 9:20.67 ), Kyla Jacobs ( 9:28.93 ) and Cian Oldknow ( 9:40.21 ) taking the top three steps on the podium . Viljoen and Jacobs also scored top points on the World Athletics table , while Oldknow recorded her 14 th personal best in a 12-month period . |
Charné Bosman
Images : Action Photo SA & courtesy Cape Milers Club , Garry Babich , Murray & Roberts Running Club , Team Just-In
At a track meet at the famed Kings Park in Durban , Jack Spencer ran an impressive 8:57 for second place in the 3000m , while Mhlengi Gwala , racing with his blade for the first time on the track , stopped the clocks at 18:01 for the 5000m race .
At the 25 th annual Krugersdorp Berg en Dal 15km night race , Kabelo Melamu strode to victory in the fourthfastest time ever on this very tough , hilly route , coming home in 47:52 . Ilse Marais was third in the women ’ s race , as well as first veteran in the over-40 category .
Olympian Sibusiso Nzima strode to a fine second place in the 2022 edition of the Dis-Chem Half Marathon , clocking 66:49 on another tough route and
Sibusiso Nzima
Jenna Challenor
finishing just 18 seconds behind the winner . Two-time defending champion Philani Buthelezi was third , in his fastest time ever on this route , confirming the highly competitive nature of the men ’ s field this year . In the vets ’ race , Thulani Magagula was third in 73:59 , which was just 15 seconds behind the second man home in the category .
In the women ’ s section at the Dis-Chem , Kesa Molotsane was fifth in 84:25 , but in the women ’ s over-40 category , it was one-way traffic as the black and yellow took its second clean-sweep in less than five days . First home was 2016 Comrades champ Charné Bosman , taking the category win in 85:15 , with Durban ’ s Jenna Challenor second , just ten seconds later , and Jeannie Henderson on the third step of the podium in 86:13 . Judy Bird , who has been on a roll in the grandmasters category in the last few months , averaged exactly 4:30 a kay ( 94:38 ) on this exacting route to win the over-60 title , but astoundingly her time would have won the masters category as well !
Another fine run saw Mikhaela De Oliveira , niece of Comrades stalwarts Eloi and Grace , not only win the Scottburgh 10km title , but she was also the first
Philani Buthelezi
Jeannie Henderson
Thulani Magagula
Judy Bird
junior home . A superb performance in the oppressive KwaZulu-Natal heat !
“ We are delighted , and admiringly so , with the results that we ’ ve seen in the first few weeks of the year ,” says club chairman Ed Jardim . “ Obviously , our athletes are hungry to compete , to race and to win , and this is exactly the type of start we would have wanted . Two shut-outs on the podium and we are only just in week two of January … This augurs well for the rest of 2022 .”
You can find more info on the Murray & Roberts Running Club via our Facebook page or our website .
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