Glenrose Xaba gears up for the Absa Run Your City 10km in Gqeberha

Xaba, who shattered the national record with a personal best of 31:12 at the Durban 10km last year—breaking Elena Mayer’s 23-year-old mark—approaches the event with confidence and composure.

The race offers a R30,000 prize for the first male and female finishers. Named Athletics South Africa’s Female Road Runner of the Year in January, Xaba says she is eager to kick off the road running season and is feeling optimistic about her 2024 campaign.

"I am feeling relaxed because I'm running without injury, injury-free. The Gqeberha course is fair enough, I'm looking forward to running a good time," Xaba said.

Xaba, coached by Violet and Caster Semenya, delivered a commanding performance at the Athletics Gauteng North (AGN) Provincial Championships at Pilditch Stadium in Tshwane.

She dominated the competition, securing victory in both the 10,000m (31:56.65) and 5,000m (15:20.00), showcasing her impressive early-season form at the two-day event.

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"The AGN Champs went well because I wanted to challenge myself, running against time and see how far I can go and help me to see how far I am with my fitness as I train very hard," she added.

Despite delivering a strong performance at the provincial championships, the national marathon record holder, with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 22 seconds, is not focused on breaking the 31-minute mark in Gqeberha.

Instead, she aims to enjoy the race without putting unnecessary pressure on herself.

"I don't want to put more pressure on myself saying that I'm targeting 31 minutes now, I will see with the race how it goes. I can be very happy if I'm able to run a fast time in Gqeberha because the course is very fast and flat."