'I must thank my coach' - Seloyi targets good showing at F21 Half Marathon after PB at Absa DURBAN 10K

In one of the fastest races in South African history where six men broke the 28 minute barrier, Bennet Seloyi underlined his status as an emerging force in local distance running with a world class performance at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on Sunday 13 July. 

Seloyi on course to set a new 10km PB at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K. Photo Credit: Anthony Grote.

Including Kabelo Mulaudzi who triumphed in a new personal best time 27:41, were three other SA men who finished inside the top ten. One of them was Seloyi who produced a lifetime best time of 28:12 to finish eighth overall, slicing seven seconds off the 28:19 he ran during the Cape Town leg of the Absa RYC where he finished seventh. Speaking after the race, the 24-year-old who has now taken almost a minute off his 10km personal best in a roughly a year, said the wonderful work done by his coach Best Ngwenya is the reason for his great improvement.

"I'm very happy with the performance," he told #TheTopRunner. "I think I must thank my coach and training partners for the good work we do in the background. Today proved to be a great day of running, but the training to prepare for this race started like two months ago. So to see good results makes me happy," said Seloyi who is the reigning SA Marathon Champion after winning the Balwin Sport Peninsula Marathon in Cape Town in February.

Seloyi representing Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) at the SA Marathon Championships in Cape Town where he won the national title. Photo Credit: Stephen Granger.

"Before the race, I was not feeling well as I had a bit of a groin injury which made me doubt if I would run well. But the day before the race, I went for a massage which I think it helped me big time. When I was jogging before the race, I felt strong and ready for the big day. Even though I didn’t achieve my plan which was to run sub 28 minutes, I believe that I can do it next time I get an opportunity because I have the potential to do it."

Running the fastest 10km race of his life is just another milestone that the Thembisa-based top runner from Limpopo has achieved this year. After winning the Peninsula Marathon, he went on to win the Prince Mangosuthu Half-Marathon which came with a R50 000 winner's purse. He says joining the Boxer Athletics Club at the beginning of 2025 from the Waterfall Athletics Club, to run alongside the likes of Kabelo Mulaudzi and Elroy Gelant forced him to up his game.

Seloyi runs shoulder to shoulder with Boxer AC teammate Chris Mhlanga just off the lead bunch during the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K. Photo Credit: Gavin Ryan.

"When I joined Boxer, I knew there were lot of top runners in the team. I told myself that I must begin to work harder in training in order to deliver good results. We had to change the program with the coach to adopt new ways of doing things. Plus the support I'm receiving from the club means I’m less stressed when I'm running. In the past, I was not getting all the things I needed in order to improve. Overall, I'm grateful that I joined a club that knows what athletes need to perform," he concluded.

For Seloyi - a former national 10km Champion who represented the national at the 2024 World cross Country Championships - his next target is to run well at the Foskor F21 Half-Marathon in Phalaborwa, Limpopo on 26 July, especially since the event incorporates the Athletics South Africa Half Marathon Championship. "I'm hoping to have a good race at the SA Half Marathon because there is an opportunity to get selected for the World Championship there. My goal is to run 63 minutes over the distance."