Glenrose misses FOSKOR Marathon record by seconds

This comes after Xaba won the women’s race in a time of 1:12:32. As she ran to the finish line the crowd cheered her on, hoping she would be able to break the record of 1:12:19 set by Elana Meyer in 1999 and with it pocket the R50 000 reward for breaking the record. Although she was disappointed that she was not able to break the record, she was still excited that she managed to defend her title and take home R50 000 in prize money.

She was followed by Rutendo Nyahora from Zimbabwe and Blandina Maka from Lesotho in times of 1:17:43 and 1:18:56 respectively. Matthews Leeto (33) of the Hollywood Athletics Club in the North-West province won the men’s race with a time of 1:03:44. Leeto told the Herald that he was disappointed that he missed the record set by Ezael Thlobo in 1997 with just more than two minutes. He was emotional after he crossed the finish line.

Also read: Perfect running conditions at the Tuffy 4-in-1 road race

“It was tears of joy, I was dizzy before the race and I think the heat got the better of me, I was not sure if I would make it. This is my first big 21km title, as I specialise in 10km races. “However, I’m really happy that I managed to win the race, the money will assist me with preparing for upcoming races. “The prize money will also help put food on the table at home, as I’m currently the breadwinner,” he said.Leeto was followed by Namakoe Nkhasi of Nedbank Athletics Club and Elijah Mabhunu with 1:03:58 and 1:04:18 on the clock.

Both the women’s and men’s races received the same prize money of R50 000 for the winners, R25 000 for second position, R18 000 for third, R15 000 for fourth, R10 000 for fifth, and R2000 up to tenth position. In both categories in the 10km race, the top 10 runners were all South Africans. The men’s 10km winner was Sibonginkosi Maseko with the time of 00:31:04, followed by Prince Ndlovu and Mangena Samuel with times of 00:32:15 and 00: 33:50 respectively.

Thembi Thembi won the women’s race in a time of 00:46:46, she was followed by Rosinah Molato and Merriam Bopape with 00:48:08 and 00: 49:30 on the clock. There was an extra R50 000 prize money for the record breaker, which unfortunately no one won. Foskor CEO, Julian Palliam, said the marathon was their biggest event yet with 1300 runners only in the 21km race. He said he believes it to be one the richest marathons in the country with over R400 000 in prize money. “It was a wonderful day with the community attending in great numbers to cheer on the runners and participate in the activities at the stadium.”