Purple tide to sweep through Joburg as top runners prepare to do battle at Hollywoodbets 10km
A sea of purple will flow through the streets of Johannesburg for the third edition of the Hollywoodbets Joburg 10km race. The event which started with 6000 participants in 2024 has doubled in just two years as 12 000 runners will line up for the race, which takes place on a new route which starts and finishes at the Nasrec Expo Centre on Sunday 18 October.
Hollywoodbets Athletics Club top runner, Gerda Steyn will return to the starting line after finishing as the runner-up behind Kenya’s Fridah Ndinda last year. The seven-time Two Oceans champion says although 10km is not her speciality, she is aiming for another top ten position.
“Being a part of it is really special. Last year I finished in the second position, for me to finish in a high position again would be amazing. I am looking forward to pushing myself and competing against the fast 10km runners. It’s going to be a tough route as expected but it’s all part of the challenge. It makes the accomplishment feel so much more special,” says Steyn.
The five-time Comrades winner has been trying her hand at trail running and she says she has been enjoying doing something different.
"For the last two months, I have been doing a little bit of a different type of training. I have been competing in trail races for the first time. But the last two weeks or so I have been more focused on being back on the roads. Throughout the year I try to maintain a good level of speed, regardless of the type of training or race I am preparing for. I feel like I am in a good space, strong enough and ready to give it a go on Sunday,” she says.
Steyn will be lining up against a competitive field of runners including Emma Pallant-Browne who won the hilly Waterfall Half Marathon just last month. Armed with a new 32:45 personal best set during the Durban leg of the Totalsports Women’s Race in August, the three-time duathlon world champion says she is looking forward to running in Soweto for a stab at the R40 000 winner's purse.
“You have got to be smart on this race. I think coming into it, knowing the profile, knowing that it’s downhill then uphill. I am going to try and go off a little bit steadier and then really finish strong. I want to give the uphills a good hit. I think I have done a lot of hilly races in Joburg recently, hopefully they are going to pay off on Sunday,” says Pallant-Browne.
The men’s defending champion, Thabang Mosiako, is fresh from the Cologne Marathon in Germany where he finished in eighth position in 2:11:59. Taking on the likes of Stephen Mokoka and rising star Sibusiso Msibi, the Nedbank Running Club ace says although his legs may still be heavy, he is aiming for a top five finish.
“I am not yet prepared but I am going to try my level best to do well. Running is nice for me at this point, I enjoy every distance I run since I started introducing myself to marathons. A marathon is tough but it prepares your mind for each and every distance. I heard there’s a massive hill there, so if I can run 30 minutes or just lower than that, I will be happy,” says Mosiako.
Comments