'I'm going to do a lot of 10km races now' - Evergreen Mokoka now fastest SA 40+ 10km runner

The Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K on Sunday 11 May celebrated a decade since the first RUN YOUR CITY SERIES race was run in The Mother City. Kabelo Mulaudzi delivered a superb 27:49 lifetime best to become the first South African to win the Cape Town leg of the RYC to win the race 2016 the legendary Stephen Mokoka did in 2016 when it was a 12km race. 

In a remarkable display of longevity, Mokoka was still in action a decade later, producing a fine 28:06 performance to finish third overall behind Muluadzi and Lesotho's Kamehelo Mofolo who clocked for 27:53 a maiden sub 28 finish. Now 40 years old the former SA 10km record (27:38), expressed excitement to be able to put his speed to the test and be competitive against the faster and younger athletes. 

Mokoka in action during the 2025 Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K. Photo Credit: Hollywood Athletics Club.

"My target was to run around 28:15 because I wanted to get the speed back. With the weeks I have been training for this then I'm happy with the time," explained the Hollywood Athletics Club top runner.

"To get a podium position again is good but I'm not happy because I could see that I can get more. I'm happy for Kabelo, he is a consistent sub 28 minutes runner. It's good for him and I could see that he is psychologically strong. When I saw that we went through 5km in 14:05 and the guys started pushing I felt good. But when Kabelo started pushing hard, I struggled a bit and started to fall behind a lot," he told #TheTopRunner.

Mokoka on the podium the Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES for the first time since 2021. Photo Credit: Stillwater Sports.

What makes the multiple SA champion and former 50km world record holder's performance all the more special is that it came just seven weeks after he struggled and was forced to walk across the finish line in just under five hours at the Totalsports Two Oceans 56km ultra marathon. Having physically recovered from that tough day with the fastest 10km run by a South African man over the age of forty, Mokoka says hie will continue to focus on the shorter distances for now as he build up to the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on July 13. He hasn't ruled out a marathon though. 

"With the coach (Michael Seme), we have decided to go into the shorter stuff. I'm now back in that training programme. Hopefully the next race, I'll do better than this one (Absa DURBAN 10K). I'm going to do a lot of 10km races now and will see a marathon later in the year. I did too much last year so I'm not going to skip the World Championships. The focus is to build the speed.”