By Adnaan Mohamed
GQEBERHA: Glenrose Xaba may have arrived in Gqeberha with tired legs after her World Half Marathon Championship outing in Copenhagen, but the South African road-running sensation left the rain-soaked streets with another piece of history.
The Boxer Athletics Club star scorched her way to a breathtaking 31:16 victory in Saturday morning’s SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge, producing the third-fastest 10km time ever recorded by a South African woman.
The clock was cruelly close to another national record.
Xaba finished only four seconds outside her South African record of 31:12, set at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K on 7 July 2024.
That performance in Durban saw Xaba shatter the long-standing national record of 31:13 held by iconic South African distance runner Elana Meyer for 23 years.
In Gqeberha, the weather offered little assistance. Overcast skies, humidity and persistent rain turned the course into a slippery test of speed and strength, but Xaba treated the conditions as little more than another hurdle to clear.
Her 31:16 was a powerful statement so soon after representing South Africa at the World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen.
If fatigue was knocking on the door, Xaba refused to answer.
Behind her, Boxer teammate Karabo More produced another breakthrough performance, powering to second place in a brilliant personal best of 32:21.
More’s run added another layer to a dominant day for Boxer AC, with the club securing the top two places on the podium.
Ethiopian Selam Gebre of Nedbank completed the podium in 32:33, but the morning belonged to Xaba.
Her victory was not another routine entry in the record books. It was a reminder that South African women’s distance running has a formidable engine at its front, and Xaba continues to push the needle.
The stopwatch says four seconds separated her from her own national record.
The bigger picture says Xaba remains within striking distance of history.
And with the SPAR Grand Prix season gathering pace, the race against the clock has only begun.