Adam Lipschitz turned pre-race confidence into a record-breaking performance at the OUTsurance Gun Run Half Marathon, while Irvette van Zyl marked her return to the race with a convincing victory.
Lipschitz had made no secret of his ambition before Sunday’s 21.1km race, arriving in Cape Town determined to attack the course record.
Lipschitz, who won the Gun Run 10km in 2025, controlled the early stages with a series of fartlek-style surges before making the decisive move with about 19km remaining.
The acceleration proved decisive as he broke clear of his rivals and maintained his momentum to the finish.
Seutloali finished second in 1:02:53, with Hollywood teammate Tsépo Ramashamole completing the podium in 1:03:13.
Former Gun Run 21.1km winner Lloyd Bosman of Nedbank Running Club SWD was fourth in 1:03:28, while local athlete Anthony Timoteus finished fifth in 1:04:06.
For Lipschitz, the performance also provided valuable race-specific preparation as he continues building towards the marathon distance.
The women’s race produced another significant performance as Irvette van Zyl returned to the Gun Run Half Marathon after a seven-year absence and claimed victory in 1:14:03.
The 39-year-old Hollywood Athletics Club runner finished nearly three minutes clear of defending champion and clubmate Busisiwe Chamane, who crossed the line in 1:17:24.
Former Gun Run champion Fortunate Chidzivo of Nedbank Running Club WP was third in 1:18:23.
Van Zyl said the conditions and altered route made the race challenging.
“Today’s race was a bit tough. It was really humid because yesterday it rained,” she said.
She also had to adapt to a course that had changed significantly since her previous appearance in 2019.
“There’s a lot of up and down sidewalks and we had a bit of a cobblestone stage we actually run on,” Van Zyl said.
A two-kilometre hill also disrupted her rhythm.
“I would have hoped to run closer to 73, but I just couldn’t get my rhythm going the first 12-ish kilometres,” she said.
Her race improved after the climb, when she returned to the road and later reached the promenade.
“Overall I’m happy with today and happy with the win,” Van Zyl said.
She believes there is scope for a faster performance should she return, having now experienced the revised course.
“Hopefully when I return I can run faster than that, because then I will know what is ahead.”
The Hollywood weekend had already produced a strong result in Saturday’s 10km, where veteran Stephen Mokoka, 41, won in 29:36.
Hollywood AC veteran Stephen Mokoka won the Gun Run 10km on Saturday on debut.
Awethu Ntsotho of Athletes Academy in Boland was second in 29:49, while Eersterivier AC junior Beautin Van der Westhuizen finished third in 30:02.
Russian-born Stellenbosch-based athlete Olga Firsova, 43, won the women’s 10km in 35:17, ahead of Yandiswa Shange (38:12) and Nadia Turton (39:08).
For Lipschitz, the Gun Run provided a record to celebrate. For Van Zyl, it offered a successful return and a glimpse of faster days ahead.
On a sprightly Spring morning in Cape Town where the absence of the Atlantic breeze felt like nature’s starter’s pistol, Joseph Khoarahlane Seutloali once again proved he is no stranger to rewriting the script.
Close to 9000 runners lined up at the start on Fritz Sonnenberg Road in ideal weather conditions in Green Point, and finished the challenging but spectacular 21.1km route on the lush green grass of Green Point Common.
Like a thoroughbred biding his time in the pack, Seutloali running in the colours of Hollywood Athletic Club shadowed his rivals up the Sea Point to Camps Bay climb before unleashing a surge that broke the race wide open.
Anthony Timoteus(1:03:05) from the Athlete’s Academy clung on for silver, 38 seconds adrift, while defending champion Lloyd Bosman (1:03:24) from the Nedbank Club settled for third.
Coached by the highly respected Andrew Booyens, Seutloali’s winning time was just 11 seconds shy of his lifetime best of 1:01:56 for the distance, set on a much flatter and faster route in Gqeberha in 2019.
Tymebank Langa’s William Kaptein (1:04:09) was fourth. Kaptein was followed by clubmates Yanga Malusi (1:04:09) and Edward Jack (1:04:32).
In the women’s race, KwaZulu-Natal’s Busisiwe Chamane from the Black Diamond Club literally and figuratively shined as bright like a diamond.
Busisiwe Chamane Photo: OUTsurance Gun Run
Having swapped soccer boots and volleyball nets for running shoes only in 2020, she has risen swiftly through the ranks.
In Green Point, she seized her biggest prize yet, clocking 1:17:45 ahead of Nedbank’s Anel Terblance (1:18:39) and Carla Johnson (1:20:20) from Asics Running Club. Terblanche’s Nedbank AGN teammate Deanne Laubscher (1:22:50) finished fourth with Tymebank Langa’s Alexa Townsend (1:23:02) crossing the finish line in fifth position.
Elsewhere, the Gun Run’s supporting acts provided their own theatre. Adam Lipschitz (29:18) sprinted to the men’s 10km title on Saturday. Bruce-Lynn Damons (29:32) was hot on his heels, with William Kaptein (30:07) claiming third.
Triathlete Shanae Williams (33:30) edged Kyla Jacobs (33:37) in a thrilling women’s 10km race, and trail king Philani Sengce (1:13:14) secured a third straight crown, striding home more than two minutes clear.
For Seutloali, the road ahead is painted with Olympic dreams, but on Sunday morning, The Mother City belonged to him. and to Chamane, who showed that sometimes the most unlikely journeys can end at the front of the pack.
