The men’s race at Sunday's Absa Cape Town 12K Cityrun race is on fire with the announcement that Morris Munene Gachaga, Daniel Simiyu Ebenyo, in-form Precious Mashele and Olympian Stephen Mokoka are all confirmed starters.
Gachaga and Ebenyo have the 12km world best time of 33:27 firmly in their sights and Mashele will love the pace they will need to set to break the time of 33:27 that was set by Morris Gachaga in this very race in 2017.
One man who could spoil the party of the main protagonists is David Manja whose 2021 season delivered two big PB’s in the half marathon and over 15km. Manja ran 62:12 in Gqeberha on 1 May at the SA Half Marathon Championships and also clocked 44:19 over a tough and hilly course in the same city for 15km.
While he is not considered a favourite, he will nevertheless be waiting in the wings to pick up the pieces of any who falter.
Ahead of the Absa sponsored RUN YOUR CITY Series, the bank partnered with the Langa Running Club as part of their role in society strategy to create a meaningful impact and develop communities it operates in.
The purpose-led bank hosted a brief handover of much needed running apparel to athletes from the running club in the township of KwaLanga, outside of Cape Town.
Absa Managing Executive, Relationship Banking for Western Cape and Eastern Cape, John Tshabalala, says the bank wants to play a leading role in the upliftment of its customers and communities across the country through key partnerships and initiatives that unearth, foster and profile Africa's greatest talent.
"Absa prides itself in making possibilities come to life and as part of the Absa Cape Town 12K CITYRUN, we wanted to empower runners with assets they need to achieve their performance goals. The Langa Running club has 380 members and our ambition is to see every member of this club participate in the next Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series and hopefully represent the country in this sport in the future," says John
Langa Running Club Chairman, Aubrey Isaacs, is elated by the visit from the bank and mentioned that it augurs well for the development of running in the township.
"Many of our club members are juniors who still have a long way to go in the sport of running. This gesture by Absa will inspire not only them but their peers to take the sport seriously and use it to better their lives," he said.
"We would also like to thank Absa for donating running shoes to our four elite lady athletes who will be taking part in this weekend's Absa Cape Town 12K CITYRUN, the impact that such a donation has on a township club goes a long way in boosting their confidence and hopefully they will deliver some stellar results this weekend," he added.
IOL Sport