The 2022 Absa RUN YOUR CITY (RYC) CAPE TOWN 10K is fast shaping up to be the most explosive road race in South Africa with the announcement that the Kenyan running star, 2021 Absa RYC CAPE TOWN defending champion, Jesca Chelangat will be back to defend her title. Her addition to the elite field of female athletes makes this one of the highest quality female running fields ever assembled on African soil, for a 10km race.
In addition to this exciting announcement, event organisers have also confirmed the following names: South Africa’s Tayla Kavanagh, Lesotho’s National 10k record holder, Neheng Khatala and 2021 Absa RYC CAPE TOWN third place finisher, Diana Chesang of Kenya.
“We’re committed to continue adding to the already impressive list of athletes that will toe the line at the 7th edition of the Absa RYC CAPE TOWN 10K on Sunday 15 May,” confirms Michael Meyer, Managing Director of Stillwater Sports and Founder of SA’s leading 10km road running series. “To say that the women’s elite race is going to be world class and nail biting is an understatement and that is exactly what we want. We are proud to give SA’s elite runners the opportunity to face the World’s best runners here on home soil. We’d like to encourage all South Africans to show their support, either at the event or from their living rooms as the event will be broadcast live on Super Sport.”
Meyer adds: “We also want to encourage women of all levels and abilities to enter the event and run with these icons of female running. Show your support for the strength of women in the sport of running in Africa! There are very few sports in the world where the best in the world can line up at the start with athletes of all abilities. Road running is a fantastic sport in that way.”
With such an impressive line-up, one can only expect a race of the highest standards on Sunday 15 May. Jesca Chelangat took control of the 2021 race in the final 2km and surged away. In 2022 she will be a marked lady courtesy of that win. Chelangat has raced but once so far in 2022, running 35:25 at the Agnes Tirop Cross Country Classic over 10km in Eldoret on 12 February. As a result, she will enter Cape Town on very fresh legs, making her a dangerous contender. Boasting a 15:52.02 for 5000m (run at 1795m altitude in Nairobi) in 2021, Chelangat not only has raw speed, but also the endurance to back it up.
But Chelangat will not have it her own way come race day. Ugandans Stella Chesang (winner of the 2018 Absa RYC DURBAN 10K, setting a lifetime best of 31:14) and Mercyline Chelangat (winner of the 2017 Absa RYC DURBAN 10K) will mount a serious challenge, as will Tayla Kavanagh, Neheng Khatala and Diana Chesang.
Kavanagh ended 2021 on a high as she won the Absa RYC DURBAN 10K (incorporating the SA 10km Championships) with a massive personal best of 32:10, after leading the race from the gun. If anything, Kavanagh is in better shape than she was at the end of 2021 and the possibility of her becoming only the fourth lady to break 32min over the 10km distance are high indeed. “I am really excited about the race in Cape Town on May 15. I know there are some very good ladies coming to run and that makes me excited as it means I will be in a position to run better.”
Kavanagh in winning the Absa RYC DURBAN 10K, did all the hard work by running from the front and setting the pace from the gun. And still she managed to run 32:10 – the 5th best time ever by a South African over 10km. With the calibre of athletes coming to Cape Town from abroad, she is fully expecting to break that 32min barrier. “In Durban I did all the work. This time I won’t have to, and I know if I sit in the pack with these ladies, I can beat my best and look to go under 32minutes,” enthused the 20-year-old.
Kavanagh sees herself as a road runner and believes her best performances will come on the road, which is why she is so excited about the Absa RYC CAPE TOWN 10K on May 15. Her preparations have shown she is well capable of going under 32minutes. After having an easy win in the Best of Best Durban 10k in 32:51, Kavanagh took to the track and has run in three 5000m races. This is the furthest she has raced on the track, clocking 16:03.52 in the KZNA Championships on 12 March, before winning the Athletes Academy Track Series 5000m race at Coetzenburg in a PB of 15:43.40 on 28 March and finishing 5th at the National Championships on 21 April, clocking 15:50.57. “I am not used to the track. It is a very different type of racing to the road. On the road, I like to find my rhythm and run. So I will find that rhythm and go with the ladies in Cape Town.”
Also returning to Cape Town is 2021 Absa RYC DURBAN 10K and Absa RYC CAPE TOWN 12K runner up, Neheng Khatala from Lesotho. Khatala set a national record over 10km in finishing second in Durban in 2021, running 32:18, and according to coach Andrew Booyens, who also coaches Kavanagh, Khatala is in the shape of her life and is targeting a time around 31:30. “Neheng is in good shape. She won the Race to Equality Half Marathon in March in Johannesburg over a very tough course. Her training is going very well and she is in better shape than in 2021. So a 31:30, or thereabouts, is very much on the cards.”
And with 2021 Absa RYC CAPE TOWN 12K third place finisher, Diana Chesang, also in the mix, the 2022 edition of the Absa RYC CAPE TOWN 10K has all the ingredients to be one of the most explosive road races yet seen on South African soil. Chesang (Diana) finished 7th in the Valencia 10km on 9 January, to clock a personal best time of 32:24.
The 2021 Absa RYC CAPE TOWN 10K arguably boasts one of the best ever women elite fields yet assembled in South Africa.
EVENT INFORMATION: 2022 Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series
| 1. Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K | Date: Sunday 15 May 2022 |
| Entry Fee:
Standard (Licensed): R235.00 Gold Package (Licensed): R900.00 Temporary Licence: R40.00 |
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| Entries Opened: Tuesday 01 February 2022 | |
| Entries Close: Monday 09 May 2022 | |
| 2. Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K | Date: Sunday 10 July 2022 |
| Entries Open: Tuesday 08 March 2022 | |
| 3. Absa RUN YOUR CITY JOBURG 10K | Date: Saturday 24 September 2022 |
| Entries Open: Tuesday 05 April 2022 |
CHARITY SUPPORT: When entering the Absa RYC CAPE TOWN 10K online entrants can choose to support five local charities: 1. Reach for a Dream (RFAD), 2. help2read, 3. Cotlands, 4. Cape of Good Hope SPCA and 5. Die Burger Kinderfonds.
SA ELITE ATHLETE PROGRAMME: The Absa RYC Series has launched the 2022 SA Elite Athlete Programme aimed at providing South African runners with the opportunity to run world class times on South African soil. The programme is aimed at ensuring that the best South African athletes compete in the Absa RYC Series, against some of the best athletes in the world, and are rewarded for world class performances.
Read more here: https://runyourcityseries.com/latest-news/absa-run-your-city-series-launches-the-south-african-elite-athlete-programme/
PRIZE PURSE: The 2022 Absa RYC Series boasts a whopping combined prize purse to the value of R870 000. Athletes that form part of the SA Elite Athlete Programme and Contender Programme will also be eligible to win their share in the event prize purse at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K, Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K and Absa RUN YOUR CITY JOBURG 10K.
PLEASE NOTE: The event organisers will at all times adhere to Government Regulations regarding COVID-19.
Facebook: @CapeTown10k / @Durban10k / @Joburg10k
Instagram: @CapeTown10k / @Durban10k / @Joburg10k
Hashtag: #RunYourCity #AbsaRunYourCity
Websites: www.runyourcityseries.com
About Absa
Absa Group is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups.
Absa Group offers an integrated set of products and services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and insurance.
Absa operates in fourteen countries. The Group owns majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Absa Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia and has insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. Absa also has representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria, and securities entities in the United Kingdom and the United States.
For further information about Absa Group Limited, please visit www.absa.africa
About the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series
A proudly South African mass participation road running series, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series has been revolutionizing the sport since 2015. A road running celebration like no other, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series comprises three unique events namely the Absa RUN YOUR CITY CAPE TOWN 10K (launched in 2015), the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K (launched in 2017) and the Absa RUN YOUR CITY JOBURG 10K (launched in 2016).
A diverse road running series, the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series integrates businesses, families, investment in community, world class achievement and fun for all participants.
For further information please visit https://runyourcityseries.com/