'If I continue to work hard, it will come' - Karabo Mailula targets sub 33 in 2025 after successful 2024 season
South African road running starlet Karabo Mailula is pleased with how she performed this year. In 2023, Mailula announced herself as a promising prospect by scooping the SA Cross Country 10km title in Gqerbeha. That achievement earned her a spot to represent the country in the World Cross Country Championship held in Australia earlier this year. And if 2023 served as her breakthrough year, then 2024 was about cementing her position as one of the leading women on the local road running scene.
The 22-year-old who hails from Mabopane, won the the gold medal at the FISU World University Cross Country Championships in Oman in February, won the Foskor F21 Half Marathon in Phalaborwa in July and the Thembisa Mile 10km title in October. But her best result was an impressive 33:08 personal best at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on 7 July, where she finished 6th overall against the world class field assembled on the day. To her, these achievements didn't come as a surprise.
"Yeah, I'm not surprised with the improvement. Last year, I was planning to be a consistent elite athlete. That’s when I started to train a lot. Do a lot of mobility. I started to train with male runners in order to get used to the hard pace. Then I started place inside the top 10 in most races, which I was happy about," explains, Mailula, who trains alongside Glenrose Xaba under guidance of Caster and Violet Semenya.
Despite running fast, the woman who obtained silver at the ASA 10km Championship and then won two national Cross Country medals in both the 4km and 10km events, has also managed to keep up with her academics. Studying towards a degree in teaching, the University of Pretoria student thanks her mother for being able to strike the balance between focusing on her schoolwork and making strides as a top runner. She says her mother is her biggest supporter.
"Sometimes it is a bit hard to balance running with studying as I do have a lot of assignments. But my mother supports me. At home, it’s just me, my mother and two little brothers. I think my mother is so happy with my achievements because she sees the money that running brings even if she doesn't understand it at all. She is also so proud of me and seeing people posting me on social media. I'm happy that I have been finding the time to fit it all in and that keeps my mother happy. "
But there have been times during this 2024 season where Mailula has failed to strike the balance. A disappointing run at the SPAR Grand Prix in August proved to be just the wake up call she needed. "After getting used to be in the top 10, I started taking things lightly. At the Tshwane Spar 10km, I failed to finish inside top 10 for the first time this year (finished 16th in 38:37). It was a depressing result but I went back to the drawing board to regain my shape," she told #TheTopRunner.
Mailula bounced back from that dip in form with a super run at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km on 29 September. Run on a fast and flat course, the youngster who was developed by the legendary Nixon Nkodima came agonizingly close to smashing her 10km lifetime best when she produced 33:09 for fourth place. Despite just missing out on breaking the 33 minute barrier for the first time, Maillula remains positive and still dreams of running 32 minutes soon.
"This year, I was hoping to break my personal best over 10km. I thought I can run closer to 32 minutes flat or at least 32 minutes late, which would have made me much happier. I trained hard to do it at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km and it was doable when you consider that the route is flat. But the wind was too much on the day so I failed to reach the target. At the end of the day, I missed by PB by just one second. If I continue to work hard, I can be able to break it soon. Hopefully, it will come next year."
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