ROAD RUNNING
With that in mind , and on behalf of the Cape Town running community – because I know I ’ m not the only one who feels this way – I ’ d like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Stillwater Sports for hosting this incredible , vibe-filled , carnival-like race , and giving us the opportunity to run alongside fellow runners and be fully immersed in the sport that we love so much . Thank you for a wonderful race experience – I ’ ll definitely be back next year to do it all again !
The race is proudly plastic-free
Cleaning up the Mother City
Cleaning up in Long Street
Fastest of the Fast
Images : Chris Hitchcock , Mark Sampson , Jaco Wolmarans & BackSports
Men ’ s winner Daniel Simiu Ebenyo
By Riël Hauman
Defending champion and pre-race favourite Daniel Simiu Ebenyo ran alone right from the start to win the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K by 30 seconds in 27:34 . The Kenyan , who won the Valencia 10km in early January in 26:58 , was hoping to beat the fastest time run on African soil , Joshua Cheptegei ' s 27:16 run in Durban in 2018 , and was still on target at halfway ( 13:36 ), but eventually fell 18 seconds short . As in 2021 , Isaac Kipkemboi ( Kenya ) was second in a PB 28:04 , with Lesotho ’ s Namakoe Nkhasi third in 28:24 , while local Cape Town runner Anthony Timoteus scored an unexpected South African ‘ win ’ when he finished fifth in a PB 28:29 , just ahead of SA Record-holder Stephen Mokoka ( 28:33 ).
In the women ’ s race , eight-time global gold medallist and World Record-holder over 1500m , Genzebe Dibaba , came to Cape Town with the stated intention to run under 31 minutes and target the fastest time ever on the African continent , Sheila Chepkirui ' s 30:55 in Durban in 2019 . The Ethiopian blasted away from the start , but could never shake off defending champion Jesca Chelangat ( Kenya ) and Stella Chesang ( Uganda ). Soon after the 6km mark , Dibaba began slipping behind , and around the 8km mark the Ugandan made a decisive break .
Chesang , who was second in the Cape Town race in both 2018 and 2019 , and who set a national record of 31:14 in winning the Durban 10km in 2018 , crossed the finish line in a huge personal best of 30:40 , easily beating Chepkirui ' s time ( which was set on a record-eligible course ). Chelangat , finished eight second adrift , also under Chepkirui ' s time , while Dibaba finished a disappointed third in 31:02 . National champion Tayla Kavanagh was the first South African in ninth place in 33:02 .
TOP 10 MEN 1 Daniel Simiu Ebenyo ( Kenya ) 27:34 2 Isaac Kipkemboi ( Kenya ) 28:04 3 Namakoe Nkhasi ( Lesotho ) 28:24 4 Asbel Kiprop Rutto ( Kenya ) 28:25 5 Anthony Timoteus ( Nedbank ) 28:29 6 Stephen Mokoka ( Boxer ) 28:33 7 Desmond Mokguba ( Entsika ) 28:35 8 Reghen Magwai ( Hollywood Bets ) 28:40 9 Thabang Mosiako ( Boxer ) 28:43 10 Melikhaya Frans ( Boxer ) 28:43
Women ’ s winner Stella Chesang
TOP 10 WOMEN
1 Stella Chesang ( Uganda ) 30:40 2 Jesca Chelengat ( Kenya ) 30:48 3 Genzebe Dibaba ( Ethiopia ) 31:02 4 Sarah Chelangat ( Uganda ) 31:35 5 Mahlet Mulugeta ( Ethiopia ) 31:47 6 Mercyline Chelangat ( Uganda ) 31:52 7 Neheng Khatala ( Lesotho ) 32:06 8 Diana Chesang ( Kenya ) 32:48 9 Tayla Kavanagh ( Murray & Roberts ) 33:02 10 Glenrose Xaba ( Boxer ) 33:12
The Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series doesn ’ t just bring runners back into city centres , promoting local businesses and tourism in the process , but also actively contributes to the cleaning and improvement of these city centres . This is done through the ‘ City Clean Up ’ initiative , whereby runners and supporters are invited to join the race organisers in a voluntary street-cleaning initiative along the route before each race in the series , to help get the city centre ready for the race .
Ahead of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K this year , a group of around 50 volunteers hit the streets of Cape Town on Saturday 14 May , the day before the race . With gloves and bags supplied by PETCO , we started by cleaning all around the finish venue near the Absa Building in Lower Long Street , then worked our way up Long Street , following the route in reverse up into the city centre . Our group included radio and TV presenter Liezel van der Westhuizen and Modern Athlete Editor Sean Falconer , who did live crossings and filmed interviews about the clean-up and promoted the # RunClean and # ICarryMyOwn messaging of the race . – Nicole Hayes
Outspoken green runners Liezel and Sean
Satisfied feeling of being a force for good
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