16 May Edward Jack storms to Easterns Kraaifontein 15km crown
By Adnaan Mohamed
Edward Jack once again swept through the Western Province Athletics road running scene with authority on Saturday morning.
The 23-year-old produced another polished performance to win the Easterns Kraaifontein 15km in 46:44.9 under cool and windless conditions in Cape Town’s northern suburbs.
Running at a blistering average pace of 3:04 per kilometre over the fast but twisting course, Jack surged clear of a field of nearly 2000 participants to cross the finish line at the Brackenfell Hyper Shopping Centre with daylight behind him.
Celtics Harriers athlete Rico van der Horst chased hard for second place in 46:59.7, while RCS Gugulethu AC runner Mandlenkosi Tuna completed the podium in 47:08.6. Elsies River AC’s Keaton Taylor Lott finished fourth in 48:05.6 ahead of Kuils River RC athleteTumelo Mokoatsi in 48:44.
Jack’s latest triumph adds another chapter to a dazzling 2026 campaign that already includes victories at the Bay-to-Bay 30km, Spartan Harriers 21km and the Langa 10km.
“I’m feeling very proud, both at my age, doing very well, like running against the big guys and winning amongst them,” said Jack afterwards.
“It makes me proud and it motivates me to keep on going.”
Behind the victories lies a gruelling balancing act. Jack revealed he works from 7am to 7pm while still trying to maintain elite-level training.
“The secret behind it is hard training every day. Waking up early in the morning, coming from work straight to the races, coming from work straight to training,” he said.
“It’s quite difficult because I’m working 7 until 7 so it holds me back on my training, but I have to keep on pushing.”
Currently unattached to a club, Jack admitted he is still searching for the right offer.
“I’m on the market,” he smiled.
Despite the victory, Jack believed the winding route denied him an even faster time.
“If it was another race like flat and not too much turns, I would have run easy 45 or under 45 because I’m in the shape,” he said.
The women’s race was won by Nedbank Running Club athlete Elmé Middlemost in 1:00:06.3 ahead of Edgemead Runners’ Obertina Kanyongo (1:01:28.3) and Nedbank teammate Hannelie Lotter (1:03:38).
Around 400 athletes also completed the 5km fun run.
The top participating clubs were Team Vitality Club WC (101 runners), Edgemead Runners (91), Bellville AC (77), Brackenfell AC (76), Durbanville AC (72), Goodwood Harriers (66), Kuils River RC (66), Pinelands AC (57), ARD AC (53) and RCS Gugulethu AC (40).
Edward Jack’s engine continues to hum like a perfectly tuned racing machine and the rest of the WPA road running field are still trying to catch the slipstream.
Easterns Kraaifontein race director Ashley Johnson praised the strong support from the Western Province Athletics (WPA) running community and credited the club’s volunteers for delivering another successful event.
“Seeing nearly 2000 runners on the road and another 400 taking part in the fun run was incredibly rewarding for everyone at Easterns Kraaifontein,” said Johnson.
“We want to thank all the WPA clubs, athletes, volunteers and supporters who came out to make the event such a success. The spirit and energy on the route showed the strength of road running in the Western Cape. A massive thank you must also go to the entire Easterns Kraaifontein team whose hard work behind the scenes helped deliver a memorable race day for the community.”
