RACE REPORT: Seoposengwe downs Nkhasi in Soweto, Njoki runs 31:00 at TWR in Durban & Xaba wins SPAR TSHWANE
Four weeks after setting a new SA All-Comers record to win the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K, Christine Njoki retrained to South Africa and took line honours once more. This time, the Kenyan won yesterday’s (4 August) Durban leg of the Totalsports Women’s Race in 31:00 - which was more than a minute ahead of Ethiopia’s Selam Gebre in second place (32:01) and Lesotho’s Neheng Khatala in third (32:03). Cacisile Sosibo was the first South African to cross the finish line, securing 6th place with a time of 33:27.
“This was my second time running in Durban. I enjoy running here. My race was good. My target was to run under 30 minutes, but we had some wind on the course which made it tough. As athletes, we have to fight. I’m happy with my performance. I am grateful to have run with so many women. I want to thank the event organizers and Durban for hosting me. I hope to come back in 2025,” says Njoki who was one of 7500 women who took part in the event.
In another women’s only race, Glenrose Xaba delivered an upset as she beat Ethiopia’s Tadu Nare to win the TSHWANE SPAR WOMEN’S 10KM CHALLENGE in dominant fashion on Saturday 3 August. Xaba broke away from the three-time SPAR Grand Prix champion thanks to a telling surge at the 6km mark and gradually increased her lead on the undulating course to cross the finish line in 32:53 which was more than two minutes ahead of Nare (34:53), as Cacisile Sosibo took third position (35:21). After winning in Cape Town in March, Xaba now holds a commanding lead atop the overall SPAR GRAND PRIX standings and is poised to become the first South African woman to win the women’s 10km series since 2018 when she won it.
"The confidence was there, but I was a little bit scared because I know that Tadu is very strong when it comes to the hills. Fortunately God gave me the power to win the race today. This year I want to win the Grand Prix since I was the one who won in 2018. It would be a great achievement for me if I can win it and bring it home. in 2018 when I won the Grand Prix I also won SPAR TSHWANE. So I think history is repeating itself," she said.
In Gauteng 2023 SA 5km Champion Nicholas Seoposengwe beat Lesotho 10km National Record holder Namakoe Nkhasi to win the hilly Soweto Cabal’s 10km road race at the University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus yesterday (4 August). Seoposengwe who is now back in Gauteng after leaving the Eastern Cape where he had been coached by Mike Mbambani, stopped the clock in 30:47 to Nkhasi’s 30:55 as his Boxer Athletic Club teammate Kabelo Melamu took the final podium position in 31:02.
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