"Now I'm fighting to get a contract" - Moyo eyes more success after breakthrough run at Hollywoodbets Durban 10km

This time last week Elex Moyo was celebrating a breakthrough performance that redefined his running career and catapulted him into the upper echelons of elite 10km runners. After years of struggling to break the 30 minute barrier, the 27-year-old produced a remarkable run of 28:57 at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km on Sunday 30 August to dip under 29 minutes for the first time and claim ninth position ahead of the likes of Thabang Mosiako, Namakoe Nkhasi and Ryan Mphahlele.

"I'm so emotional today, especially making it into the top ten with all these big dogs" he told #TheTopRunner after finishing just 39 seconds adrift of winner Tshepo Tshite. "It's a surprise. I’d like to thank my training partners as well as Stephen Mokoka. He saw me in the bunch around the 5km mark when I ran next to him. He gave me a high five and he said 'you made it.' To get a high five from the likes of Mokoka during the race encouraged me and gave me confidence. I knew that was going to make it nomakanjani."

Moyo celebrates a maiden sub 29 minute clocking at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km on Sunday 30 August. Photo Credit: Hollywoodbets Durban 10km.

The Hollywood AC North West top runner made it, finishing six seconds behind sixth placed Mokoka to open a new chapter in his running career. Moyo admits that it has been a long journey which started with cross country at Rekopane Primary School in the Mafikeng township of Lonely Park. Yet despite showing early promise, the lack of established athletics development pathways in South Africa’s more rural provinces, forced Moyo to temporarily shelve his running ambitions and seek employment in order to survive.

"I had to try and balance things. I had to work and then after work, you have to go to training and hit those splits. It’s not easy. On the other side you don’t have sponsors to supplement your income. So you just have to work hard and keep believing in yourself."

The turning point came when Moyo clocked a disappointing 31:19 to take 28th position at the 2025 Absa RUN YOUR CITY JOBURG 10K. It was the wake up call he needed to renew his resolve and refocus his training - which he did primarily with ultra marathon athletes. The results started to come. In May Moyo finished as the runner-up behind Dino Nako in the 10km race at the N12 Ultra Marathon and held that training form until he arrived in Durban to run the race of his life.

Moyo in the lead bunch tucked in behind Chris Mhlanga. Photo Credit: Hollywoodbets Durban 10km.

Moyo hopes that maiden 28-minute clocking at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium at the end of August will open the doors of opportunity and allow him to pursue his dream of being a professional athlete.

"It's not easy because some of us have to make a living from this. We have to take it seriously. It’s a blessing for me because three weeks back, I received a call from work telling me that it’s over. But my mom told me not to worry. She said she would pray for me and everything would go well. So now I’m fighting to get a contract from a club so I can be a full time athlete and be recognised. As an underdog, people will start to know me now."