Strong run in testing conditions yields victory and frustration
Gqeberha staged a competitive Spar Women’s 10km Challenge on Saturday that produced a dominant display from Glenrose Xaba, who crossed the finish line in 31:17 to collect a bonus point but fell agonisingly short of the national 10km mark by five seconds. Wet conditions on the course did not prevent fast times, with Xaba's Boxer Running Club teammate Karabo More recording a personal best of 32:21 for second place.
"About the race today, I am a little bit disappointed because I wasn't sure if I was in the SA record when I was running... when I crossed the finish line, that's when I was disappointed because I just missed it," said Xaba, according to SABC Sport.
Xaba led from the gun, setting a pace aimed at both victory and fast time. The 31-year-old — who returned from the World Road Running Championships in Denmark earlier this week — said she had been chasing points and time, and believes the Gqeberha route offers potential for record performances.
- Winner: Glenrose Xaba — 31:17 (bonus point)
- Second: Karabo More — personal best 32:21
- Third: Salem Gebre (Ethiopia) — 32:33
Near miss underlines small margins at elite level
Xaba said she only realised how close she was to the South African record when she was within the final 50–100 metres. By that point it was too late to make a decisive final push and she finished five seconds outside the mark she had been chasing. Despite the disappointment, she praised the route as both challenging and fast and suggested it could yield multiple records in future editions.
Her comments also reflected the toll of high-level competition scheduling. Xaba had only just returned from international duty and said she might have benefited from in-race encouragement or the presence of a close rival to push her even harder; one of her main season rivals, Taylor Kavanagh, remained in Europe after the global championships, according to the report.
Local implications and the season ahead
For Gqeberha athletics followers, the race offered a reminder that the city's courses can produce quick times even in less-than-ideal weather. Xaba flagged upcoming opportunities to chase the record again, including races in Johannesburg and Mangaung, as well as the Hollywoodbets Joburg 10km later in the season.
Karabo More's second-place performance was notable not only for the PB but for the context of her season. More is enjoying one of her best years — she won the African 1500m title in Ghana earlier in the season and made her Commonwealth Games debut in the mile — and the Gqeberha result added road-racing credentials to her track achievements.
| Position | Athlete | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glenrose Xaba | 31:17 | Bonus point; 5s off SA record |
| 2 | Karabo More | 32:21 | Personal best |
| 3 | Salem Gebre | 32:33 | International competitor |
Organisers and athletes alike will be watching the calendar closely. Xaba identified only a handful of remaining 10km races this season where she can again attempt the national record, suggesting that the run in Gqeberha may act as both encouragement and a motivating near-miss ahead of the autumn's key domestic events.
The result also highlights the depth being developed within South African women’s distance running: multiple athletes from the same training group and club are producing rapid times across both roads and track, signalling a competitive domestic scene that can feed into international selection and success.
Race-day conditions in Gqeberha — wet but fast — will be discussed by coaches and athletes in the weeks to come as they plan training and race targets for the final months of the season. For local athletics supporters, Saturday's race offered both the thrill of top-level competition on Gqeberha roads and the narrative of a narrowly missed national landmark that may soon be claimed.
