ROAD RUNNING
That ’ s a Run Your City Wrap
The Absa RUN YOUR CITY JOBURG 10K brought the curtain down on the record-breaking , expanded 2023 Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series , and fittingly , it ended with two new course records and another vibey party on foot as runners came out to celebrate National Heritage Day ( 24 September ) the best way possible , with a run through the centre of Jozi , passing many iconic landmarks , and enjoying the stunning experience of running along the elevated M1 and M2 highways ! – BY SEAN FALCONER with the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series
The Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series has been part of the SA road running scene for nearly a decade , with the Cape Town leg established in 2015 and the Joburg ( 2016 ) and Durban ( 2017 ) legs then added to the mix , but 2023 saw huge growth as two new races were added in Gqeberha and Tshwane . This year ’ s series not only saw record numbers participating in the series , but also saw numerous records set at the front end of the field , notably with Precious Mashele breaking the men ’ s SA Record for 10km in Gqeberha , and three SA men dipping under 28 minutes in a local race for the first time ever in the Durban leg .
It was therefore fitting that the Jozi leg wrapped up the 2023 series with two more records , as Lesotho ’ s Namakoe Nkhasi and Ethiopia ’ s Debash Desta obliterated the previous men ’ s and women ’ s course records when they crossed the finish line at the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown . Nkhasi , who won this race in 2016 , clocked 29:07 to take 35 seconds off the previous course record set by South Africa ’ s Nicholas Seoposengwe ( 29:42 ) in 2022 , while Desta ’ s 33:03 was 47 seconds quicker than the previous course record of 33:50 , set by Kenyan Emmaculate Achol in 2022 .
50 ISSUE 162 | www . modernathlete . co . za