South Africa’s 10km national record holder, Glenrose Xaba—who set the mark at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K in 2024—reinforced her dominance as the country’s leading female long-distance runner with a commanding performance over the weekend (14–15 March). Also the national marathon record holder (2:22:22), Xaba secured an impressive distance double at the Athletics Gauteng North Championships, sending a strong signal of her form just one month before lining up for the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K on Sunday, 13 April 2025.
Xaba clocked 31:56.65 to win the 10 000m on Friday, 14 March and followed that up with victory over 5000m in 15:20.00 the following day. Although she had been expected to win both events comfortably, the Boxer Athletics Club top runner nevertheless gave it everything as she produced the second fastest 10 000m time of her career.
“It was okay. It helped me to see how far my progress is in terms of my training and fitness,” Xaba explained when asked about her solo run against the clock. “I wanted to challenge myself by running against the time and I feel blessed to be injury free.”
Having proven her readiness with a dominant win over a challenging 10km course at the Motsepe Foundation Race for Gender Equality on Sunday, 16 March, Xaba has set the stage for her next big test. Xaba now turns her attentions to the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES. Armed with the 31:12 national 10km record run at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K last July, her entire team led by coaches Violet and Caster Semenya, is confident of a good showing in ‘The Friendly City’.
“The course is fair enough. All we wish for is good weather on the day of the race. I don't want to put pressure on myself. My first target is to run an injury free and smooth race and then time will come by itself. I am going to run my own race and stay focused,” confirms Xaba.
Also looking eagerly ahead to his first Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES race of 2025 is Nadeel Wildschutt. The holder of a 28:07 lifetime best produced during the now famous 2024 Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K where a slew of records tumbled, Wildschutt is dead set on breaking the 28 minute barrier for the first time in what will be his Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K debut. Adding extra spice to the race is that the reigning SA 10 000m champion will take on his brother Adriaan Wildschutt who will chase the SA 10km record of 27:35 that was set by Precious Mashele at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K in 2023.
“I'm happy to say that I'll run the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K this year. It's a change of mind to what I had originally planned at the start of the year,” explained Wildschutt who produced a personal best 7:54 behind Olympian Tshepo Tshite over 3000m at the opening of the star-studded Höerskool Stellenbosch track on 5 March. “I would say my brother persuaded me to run the race. Another thing that made me opt to run in Gqeberha is the quality field of athletes on the day. Adriaan, Elroy (Gelant), Kabelo (Mulaudzi) and Precious (Mashele) are all great runners and they are fast. If you want to be the best you have to compete with the best. I think this field will push me towards my goals of being one of the best runners in the country.”
“We are excited to see Glenrose Xaba in such outstanding form, delivering fantastic performances as she builds towards the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K. We can’t wait to see her take on the competition in April. We’re also excited to welcome Nadeel Wildschutt, making his Gqeberha debut, adding to what is already shaping up to be a world-class field. Having athletes of this calibre racing on home soil is something we take great pride in, and we look forward to an action-packed race— the perfect way to kick off the 2025 Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES season,” says Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports and Founder of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES.
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.
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). The current men's record stands at 27:35, set by Precious Mashele at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K in 2023, while Glenrose Xaba holds the women's record of 31:12, achieved at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K in 2024. It’s important to note that the R50 000.00 will be awarded to the fastest time.
Facebook: @Gqeberha10k / @CapeTown10k / @Durban10k / @Tshwane10k / @Joburg10k
Instagram: @Gqeberha10k / @CapeTown10k / @Durban10k / @Tshwane10k / @Joburg10k
Hashtag: #RunYourCity #AbsaRunYourCity
WhatsApp Line: 072 042 7613
Websites: www.runyourcityseries.com
About Absa
Absa Group is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups.
Absa Group offers an integrated set of products and services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and insurance. Absa operates in fourteen countries. The Group owns majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Absa Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia and has insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. Absa also has representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria, and securities entities in the United Kingdom and the United States. For further information about Absa Group Limited, please visit www.absa.africa
About the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES
A proudly South African mass participation road running series, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES has been revolutionizing the sport since 2015. A road running celebration like no other, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES comprises five unique events namely the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K (launched in 2023), Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K (launched in 2015), the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K (launched in 2017), Absa RUN YOUR CITY TSHWANE 10K (launched in 2023) and the Absa RUN YOUR CITY JOBURG 10K (launched in 2016). A diverse road running series, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES integrates businesses, families, investment in community, world class achievement and fun for all participants. For further information please visit https://runyourcityseries.com/
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