Adriaan Wildschutt shatters South African Record at Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Multiple South African record holder, Adriaan Wildschutt, delivered a phenomenal performance on Sunday, 13 April 2025, clocking an extraordinary 27:28 to win the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K and set a new South African 10km road record.
Wildschutt, who was making his Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES debut, lived up to his pre-race favourite tag as he eclipsed the previous record mark of 27:35 which had been set by Precious Mashele during the 2023 edition of the race in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
"It feels good (to break the record). It would have been such a pity to come all the way from the US and miss it by a few seconds. I wanted to run 13:30 or 13:35 in the first half and we were way off. I knew it was going to be hard since the wind was there. Overall, I'm happy I managed to pull it off, " said an elated Wildschutt reflecting on what was only the second road race of his glittering career.
This performance in ‘The Friendly City’ means that the 26-year-old who was tenth in the 10 000m final at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, adds yet another national record to his growing collection which already includes the 3 000m, 5 000m and 10 000m SA records. Wildschutt says setting today’s record was probably the toughest of them all.
“I think this one is pretty hard considering I ran sub-27 minutes two weeks ago and it takes long to recover. Plus, there is the traveling in between and training in Potchefstroom,” he explained.
In the end three men broke 28 minutes as Wildschutt was followed home by Kenya’s Vincent Kipkorir who ran a personal best 27:47 while South Africa’s Kabelo Mulaudzi rounded out the top three with his time of 27:57 - the third sub-28-minute 10km clocking of his career.
In the women’s race, Kenya’s Jane Gati Chacha made a sensational 10km debut, crossing the line in an impressive 31:45. She was closely followed by Ethiopia’s Selam Gebre, who finished in 31:50. South Africa’s Glenrose Xaba put in a strong performance to claim third place overall and top local honours with a time of 31:56.
Making her international debut, Chacha was overjoyed with the result, “I’m very happy. I wasn’t expecting to run this time today especially because it is my first 10km and also my first race outside of Kenya. I’m so thankful.”
“Congratulations to our elite champions, Adriaan Wildschutt and Jane Chacha, on their fantastic performances today – what an incredible display of talent. A very special mention must go to Adriaan Wildschutt on breaking the South African 10km record. This is a truly remarkable achievement – not only for Adriaan personally, but also for South African athletics and for our event as a whole. We are honoured to have witnessed such a historic moment. A heartfelt thank you to the 4000 runners who joined us – a record sold out field – and to our incredible sponsors and partners for making this unforgettable day possible.” – Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports and Series Founder.
“Well done to all that participated in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K and joined Team Absa Walk Run on Strava. A huge congratulations to all the winners. It was inspiring to see so many people taking to the streets, with many different reasons for running, pushing themselves to achieve their individual goals," said Jabulile Nsibanyoni, Head of Sponsorships at Absa. “Your stories have inspired us all, and we are immensely grateful for your contributions to our event. Thank you to our colleagues, volunteers, partner sponsors, and organisers who made this event possible.”
Charity Support: The Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES proudly supports the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) as the official charity of the entire series of events. A non-profit leader in the fight against cancer since 1931, CANSA enables research, educates the public and advocates for and supports all people affected by cancer, while leading SA towards a cancer-free society. When entering an Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES event online, runners can show their support by donating towards CANSA.
Win a Chery Tiggo 4 Pro LiT Vehicle: Dylan Abrahams was the lucky participant to drive home in a brand-new Chery Tiggo 4 Pro LiT to the value of R269 900.00 courtesy of the event’s official Vehicle Partner, Chery South Africa.
Prize Purse: The Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES boasts an impressive, combined prize purse of R1 610 000.00 in 2025. Each of the five events will feature a total prize allocation of R322 000. Of this, R252 000.00 will be dedicated to the Open Category, with R126 000.00 awarded to the Top 10 Open Men and R126 000.00 to the Top 10 Open Women. The top male and female finishers in each city will receive R30 000.00 each, with R25 000.00 going to second-place finishers and R20 000.00 to third-place finishers.
Additionally, R70 000.00 will be allocated to Age Categories. The Age Category prize pool will reward the top three finishers in the Junior, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and 70+ age groups."
South African Athlete Incentives: The Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES also has an unprecedented “SA Athlete Prize Incentive Schedule” for 2025. Applying to all five races, the incentive schedule offers bonuses for exceptional performances. In the men’s category, bonuses will start for times faster than 28 minutes, with a substantial R200 000.00 bonus for breaking the 27-minute barrier. For women, bonuses begin for times faster than 32:08 minutes, with an impressive R200 000.00 incentive for breaking the 30:23 mark.
To further raise the stakes, a bonus of R50 000.00 will be awarded to the South African athlete who breaks the SA 10km record (at the time of the race). It is important to note that the R50 000.00 will be awarded to the fastest time.
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