Glenrose Xaba sets her sights on breaking her own national 10km record

The highly anticipated race will start at 8 am on Masabalala Yengwa Avenue, with over 10,000 entries sold, and finish at the Durban Beachfront.

Xaba welcomes the challenge posed by Ethiopia’s Debash Desta, one of the fastest women in the field with a personal best of 31:03, who is targeting a sub-31-minute finish.

Xaba believes Desta’s presence will push her to reach her goal.

In May, she won the Cape Town leg of Absa Run Your City in 32:00 and followed it up with a victory at the Spar Women’s 10km Grand Prix Durban leg in 31:54.

This weekend, she is chasing her third major 10km win of the year, confident in her form and determined to make history again in KwaZulu-Natal.

“It’s great to have Jesca Chelangat and Debash Desta in the race this season because their presence brings tough competition,” Xaba told SABC Sport.

“The organisers always bring strong international athletes, and that helps us run fast times and push ourselves to the limit.

“I’m aiming to run a good time and to hopefully break my own national record, which would help improve my 10,000m world ranking.

I’ve been working hard to stay injury-free and to get into the best shape possible to reach the podium and break the record.

I’m praying for good weather like we had last year because I know Chelangat will push me to go beyond my limit.”

The reigning national champion in both the 5000m and 10,000 m has already secured her spot for the World Senior Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, later this year.

She made headlines last year by setting a new national marathon record with a time of 2:22:22 at the Cape Town Marathon.

“My goal now is to improve my world ranking and earn qualification for the 10,000 m at the World Champs,” said the 30-year-old.

 “Having Desta and Jesca in the race will push me to perform at my best. I’m feeling confident, if I stick to my race plan and stay with them, I believe I can achieve it,” she concluded.