South African distance ace Adriaan Wildschutt delivered a gutsy title defence at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Gqeberha 10K on Sunday, overcoming late disruption to win in 27:47 on a blustery morning in Nelson Mandela Bay.
What had been billed as a historic bid to become the first athlete to run sub-27 minutes for 10km on African soil unravelled less than 24 hours before the start when pacesetters Ryan Mphahlele and Luan Munnik withdrew due to illness and injury.
Elite Men Isaac Ndiema (KEN), Adriaan Wildschutt (RSA) and Tshepo Tshite (RSA) by Action Photo
The withdrawals forced Wildschutt to abandon his carefully constructed pacing plan and shift focus from chasing the clock to chasing the tape.
“With the pace setters cancelling at the last minute and with the weather not looking great, it completely changed my mindset from trying to run sub-27, but I didn’t want to be a quitter,” says Wildschutt.
Instead, the 27-year-old dug deep. Running into a stubborn headwind over the closing kilometres along Beach Road in Humewood, the Ceres-born athlete relied on strength and race craft to secure victory and R33 000 in prize money.
Kenya’s Isaac Ndiema finished second in 28:01, with Phantane Athletic Club’s Tshepo Tshite third in 28:09, a week after setting a South African 3000m indoor record in France.
Wildschutt’s winning time was 19 seconds outside the 27:28 he posted on debut in Gqeberha last year. For an athlete who thrives on precision pacing, the absence of his tempo-setters proved decisive.
“If I have the right training partners, pacemakers and good conditions then it is possible. Absolutely possible! There are few things that I want to experiment with. Hopefully, I’m going to get another opportunity.”
He stressed that the late changes were beyond the control of the race organisers.
“I want to make it absolutely clear it has nothing to do with the race organisers. It’s out of their control. They are doing a great job. I’m not trying to bash anybody here. The circumstances was just that pace setters cancelled at the last minute. And this just tells me again that sometimes you can only count on yourself.
“I’ve dealt with many challenges growing up. So, it was just a switch of focus and mindset to try to win the race. It’s sad, but it is what it is.
Hopefully I’ll have another chance, prepare and come back again. And hopefully next time it will be worth it, and everybody can be celebrating that instead of me standing here just with the win.”
The Olympic 10 000m finalist acknowledged that breaking the barrier would be easier in Europe, where deep fields and professional pacing are standard. Yet he remains determined to achieve the milestone at home.
“It’s easier to go to Europe. I can literally hand pick the type of fast courses in Europe because there are so many of them, but it would be just so much more special to do it here. It’s more challenging to achieve it here because of the wide variety of obstacles, however it will make it so much more special if you conquer those challenges and still do it on African soil.”
Wildschutt now turns his attention to the New York City Half Marathon on 15 March, where he is targeting a top-three finish.
In the women’s race, Kenya’s Brenda Jepchirchir fell short of her own sub-30 ambition, winning in 30:15 after passing halfway in 14:49. Faith Cherono was second in 30:44, while South Africa’s Glenrose Xaba claimed third in 32:13.
“I was looking to run sub 30 minutes but because of the wind in the last 5km it was tough for me,” says Jepchirchir.
“But I’m still feeling good and I want to come back to run the Absa RUN YOUR CITY Series again in Cape Town in May.”
RESULTS: 2026 Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K
Date: Sunday 01 March 2026
Start & Finish Venue: Beach Road, Humewood, Gqeberha
Start Time: 07:00
ELITE MEN
1 Adriaan Wildschutt (RSA) 27:47, 2 Isaac Ndiema (KEN) 28:01, 3 Tshepo Tshite (RSA) 28:09, 4 Kamohelo Mofolo (LES) 28:25, 5 Zenzile Pheko (RSA) 28:44, 6 Ambrosi Amma (TANZANIA) 28:47, 7 Leonard Pkorir (KEN) 28:52, 8 Stephen Mokoka (RSA) 28:55, 9 Musawenkosi Mnisi (RSA) 29:06, 10 Cwenga Nose (RSA) 29:07
ELITE WOMEN
1 Brenda Jepchirchir (KEN) 30:15, 2 Faith Cherono (KEN) 30:44, 3 Glenrose Xaba (RSA) 32:13, 4 Neheng Khatala (LES) 32:43, 5 Meselech Gedefaw (ETH) 33:07, 6 Karabo Mailula (RSA) 33:20, 7 Nthabiseng Letokoto (LES) 33:26, 8 Cacisile Sosibo (RSA) 33:28, 9 Irvette Van Zyl (RSA) 33:57, 10 Agnes Mwaghui (TAN) 34:05
Sea of Red at Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10K by Anthony Grote
