22 Jun Mashele and Mokoka go head to head
Boxer Athletics Club teammates, Precious Mashele and Stephen Mokoka, will once again go head-to-head at the highly anticipated Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on Sunday, July 9, 2023.
Precious Mashele
Mashed broke the 8-year-old SA 10km record of his friend and rival at the inaugural Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K on 2 April, taking 3 seconds off the mark Mokoka had set in 2015 when he crossed the line in 27:35.
Mokoka has repeatedly said he is looking for a sub 28 on South African soil and now that Mashele, Thabang Mosiako (27:52) and Maxine Chaumeton(27:58) have all done just that in South Africa, Mokoka is hungry to emulate that feat. To date the quartet
Stephen Mokoka
have all only broken the 28 minute barrier once in their careers. The Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on 9 July could well see both Mashele and Mokoka make it twice in their careers.
“I know I can go faster”, says Mashele, “I was running well in Gqeberhaand know I can do better. I want to break the record again.”
“After finishing third at the Nelson Mandela Bay Half Marathon and running 60:54 I told my coach that 10km is now too short for me and he said that we need to rectify that and do it in Durban,” says Mokoka setting the race up for a display of fireworks.
Mashele now heads the SA All Time rankings in the 10km with his 27:35run in Gqeberha. Mokoka is second with the previous SA Record of 27:38 run in Manchester in 2015.
Third on the list is Shadrack Hoff (27:50 – 2002), while Thabang Mosiako is 4th after his 34 second PB in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K where he clocked 27:52 and Maxime Chaumeton rounds out the top five after running 27:58 in 2022 at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K.
“To see how the men’s 10km has improved over the recent years and to know that the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series played a significant role in the process is really rewarding,” says Stillwater Sports Managing Director and Founder of the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series, Michael Meyer.
“In the last 12 months we have seen three South Africans go under 28 minutes, including the new SA Record of Precious Mashele at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series. It shows that we are on the right track and that South African road running is seeing a huge resurgence.”
