'I don't see any problem for us to beat those guys' - Mosiako ready for Absa RYC DURBAN 10k

"I'm looking forward to run the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10k. I'm ready for a PB," those were former SA 5000m champion Thabang Mosiako's words when asked about his preparations for what is expected to be the fastest 10km race on African soil this year. Mosiako has been included in the field for the much anticipated race on July 10 alongside the in-form Anthony Timoteus after both recorded 10km lifetime bests during the first instalment of the 2022 Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES in Cape Town last month.

And after running 28:43 to take ninth place, just 14 seconds behind Timoteus whose fifth place made him the first South African, Mosiako is looking to run even faster and take advantage of the time bonus incentives on offer for local athletes in eThekwini. "I'm excited and I'm just praying hard that I wake up healthy and feeling well. If I can get peaceful rest then I'll be fine because preparations have been going well and I'm ready to run sub 28:30," he told those tuned into a live broadcast on the Absa RYC social media pages on Wednesday.

Mosiako on the way to winning the 2018 Tembisa Street Mile 10km race. Mosiako is beginning to show the form he did during 2017 and 2018. He says he is ready to run a second 10km PB in as many months in Durban. Photo Credit: Tembisa Street Mile.

If Mosiako does manage to break that 28:30 barrier then he will earn a guaranteed R28 000 which he will receive regardless of his finishing position. As announced by event organiser Stillwater Sports back in March, the 2022 SA Elite Athlete Programme aims to give South African runners the opportunity to run world class times on home soil by rewarding them with some truly mouthwatering prize money.

"At the end of the of the day we want the athletes to be in control of their own destiny. We don't want the athlete to run the event simply because he's invited by the right. We want to create an objective measurement that allows athletes that if they train hard then they get into the races and win prize money and some very strong incentives. We've created it for South African athletes only because we believe part of our mission is to ensure that South African athletes of the 5km and 10km distance are able to perform and run world class times because that's the basis for everything," explained Stillwater Sports MD Michael Meyer.

Kenya's Daniel Ebenyo has dominated the last two instalments of the Absa RYC in Cape Town winning both races comfortably. Mosiako believes that South African athletes now have the belief to defeat the East Africans. Photo Credit: Stillwater Sports.

But it's about more than just the finishing time for Mosiako. Now that he has moved from Potchefstroom to Gqberha under the guidance of Micahel Mbambani and begun to return to the sort of form that saw him place seventh at the 2018 SA 21km Championships and win the Tembisa Street Mile 10km against a stacked field a few months later, the Boxer Athletic Club top runner has started to dream about winning again. Asked whether he would run for position and time or whether he would take on the arsenal of East African athletes that are expected to descend on the Indian Ocean city, Mosiako hinted that he intends to give them a taste of their own medicine.

"As Eluid Kipchoge said; no human is limited. So we can still go and compete because we are also human beings. I don't see any problem of us beating those guys. I have the belief that I one day I will beat those guys. Check the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10k, I went with those guys up until 8km and then eish...the game changed. But I think now we must just focus on my last 2km because that's where I was struggling. In Durban I will come stronger and I'm looking forward to finish with them," he concluded.