Images : Tobias Ginsberg , Richard Pearce and courtesy Stillwater Sports
ROAD RUNNING
And they ’ re off !
Kenya ’ s Daniel Ebenyo , the Commonwealth Games silver medallist over 10000m , is making it a habit of winning in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series in South Africa . Having won consecutive races in Cape Town in 2021 and
2022 , he took the lead right from the gun in the new race in Gqeberha and was never headed . His aggressive front-running style has seen him set scintillating times in his career , including a PB of 26:58 , and here he was clearly in the mood to race ! Ebenyo was chasing the SA Allcomers
Record of 27:16 , run in Durban in 2018 by Uganda ’ s former World Record-holder Joshua Cheptegei , and by the 2km mark , the Kenyan had dropped the rest of a deep field .
In spite of a hilly first kilometre , he passed through 5km in 13:11 , at an incredible average pace of 2:38 per kilometre and on course to clock a finishing time of 26:22 , which would have taken two seconds off the current World Record of 26:24 , run by his countryman Rhonex Kipruto in Valencia , Spain in 2020 ! However , that blistering early pace perhaps cost him , as he slowed down somewhat to clock 14:10 for the second half , at an average pace of 2:50 / km , and he eventually stopped the clock on 27:21 . “ I ’ m not happy with my time . I wanted a personal best , but it is early in the year , so I still have some work to do ,” he said after taking the win .
Behind the Kenyan , South Africa ’ s Precious Mashele was having the race of his life as he flew across the line in 27:35 to break the eight-year-old SA Record of 27:38 , run by Stephen Mokoka in 2015 . In the process , Mashele pulled Thabang Mosiako to a massive personal best of 27:52 , setting a new Eastern Province Record and the fourth-fastest time ever by a South African . Mashele ’ s previous best time was
28:11 , run in 2022 , meaning his took an incredible 36 seconds off his PB , while Mosiako took an equally impressive 34 seconds off his previous best of 28:26 .
“ I knew I was in shape after the World Cross Country Championships , so I wanted to chase the SA Record ,” said Mashele , who equalled his best performance by finishing 16th at those World Champs in Australia . “ I know I have gone to another level now , so I am excited about what is to come , especially in the rest of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series in 2023 .”
TOP 10 MEN
1 Daniel Ebenyo ( Kenya ) 27:21 2 Precious Mashele ( South Africa ) 27:35 3 Thabang Mosiako ( South Africa ) 27:52 4 Denis Kipngetich ( Kenya ) 28:01 5 Abere Mamo ( Ethiopia ) 28:06 6 Wellington Varevi ( Zimbabwe ) 28:07 7 Mbuleli Mathanga ( South Africa ) 28:08 8 Isaac Kibet ( Uganda ) 28:17 9 Mogos Tuemay Abrha ( Ethiopia ) 28:22 10 Asbel Kiprop Rutto ( Kenya ) 28:22
New SA Record-holder Precious Mashele
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