Chepkirui breaks ‘All Comers’ record
Results from the 2019 FNB Durban 10K CITYSURFRUN which was held on Sunday, 13 October.
THE fastest woman in the world in 2019, Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui, lived up to her billing as race favourite for the 2019 FNB Durban 10K CITYSURFRUN on Sunday, 13 October, when she took four seconds off the South African All Comers record to win in 30:55.
Chepkirui was bullish and confident on the start line making it clear that she was here to run fast, and the gusting wind was not going to deter her.
True to her word, she, Evaline Chirchir and Beatrice Mutai went straight to the front of the race and drove the pace of what is arguably the strongest ever field assembled in South Africa. With five women under 32 minutes, one of whom has gone under 30 minutes and one under 31 minutes and a further four under 33 minutes, the women’s race was always going to take centre stage.
VIEW: Gallery of runners taking part in the event
Chirchir and Mutai took the pace setting duties from the gun, but it was only in the final 500m that Chepkirui was able to open daylight between herself and Chirchir. Chepkirui, who on 7 September ran 29:57 for 10km – the fastest in the world this year and the second fastest ever – had too much speed for Chirchir who had run 66:22 for a half marathon only a month ago. Chepkirui came home in 30:55 ahead of Chirchir (30:57) and Beatrice Mutai (31:01). First South African across the line was in form Glenrose Xaba who took 14 seconds off her personal best, by finishing 5th in 32:45.
On the men’s front, Stephen Mokoka was finally able to win a 10km race on home soil when he took control of the race with 2km to go. Mokoka, who had finished 5th at the World Marathon Championships merely a week ago, relished the more tactical approach to the race taken by the lead men.
Race favourite, Uganda’s Stephen Kissa did much of the work to set the pace in the early stages of the race, but when 5km came and went in 14:21 with a lead contingent of around 20 athletes, Mokoka was smiling.
Mokoka took control and strung the field out even further. Only Mashele, Kissa and Kenya’s Kevin Kibet went with the charge, but Mokoka was not done yet. Another surge saw Mashele drop off the lead quartet. In the final kilometer, Mokoka edged ever further ahead to emerge as the winner, crossing the line in 28:12, with Kissa second (28:16), Kibet third (28:18) and Precious Mashele settling for fourth (28:26).
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