Records tumble at FNB Durban 10K CITYSURFRUN
Kissa and Mphahlele are out to make a statement at the FNB Durban 10K CITYSURFRUN.
PERFECT weather conditions, a fast route and a deep field resulted in a plethora of records tumbling at the 2nd annual FNB Durban 10K CITYSURFRUN on Sunday, 14 October.
Joshua Cheptegei broke his own course record and with that the Ugandan Record and the SA All Comers record on the day. Swiss sensation, Julien Wanders broke both the Swiss National 10km record and the European 10km record by finishing second. Stella Chesang, in winning, smashed the women’s course record, the Ugandan National 10km Record, and came within one second of the SA All Comers record.
Right from the gun the men meant business. Cheptegei flew across the finish line in 27:16 for the second fastest time globally in 2018 and the fastest on the continent this year. In doing so he took 12 seconds off the previous record and announced his return to form from injury in emphatic fashion.
An ecstatic Wanders shattered his best ever 10km time by 30 seconds. The Swiss athlete went under 28 minutes for the first time in emphatic fashion, screaming home in 27:32 for second place, one place better than in 2017. Kenya’s Moses Koech rounded out the top three finishing in 27:46.
Chesang was in no mood to play around and bolted away as soon as the gun went. She did not wait for any of the other female runners, taking the race by the scruff of the neck and leading from start to finish, beating the defending champion, Mercyline Chelangat by a 19 second margin to cross the line in 31:14 and South Africa’s Irvette van Zyl, who clocked 32:06 – the fastest time by a South African since the SA Record time of Elana van Zyl Meyer (31:13).
Eighty-seven-year-old Deidre Larkin continued to astound, as she set a new age group world record of 1:00.04.
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